Fallen Part Two: For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ruby Raze
Summary: YOU MUST READ FALLEN BEFORE YOU READ THIS::Secrets to Kagome's family and her heritage are revealing themsevles, and are potentially deadly. And just what is wrong with Sesshoumaru!
1. The Game

_Hey again, I would have had this chapter out earlier, but I couldn't think of a song that would work for it. But never fear the great and powerful authoress has found her song. I'm now going to work on chapter two so I can hopefully get it out to you soon. It's kinda my way to make up for the lost time because of the hurricanes and school and such. Also, I've decided that I'm going to take my time with school and not push myself to graduate by May because I really can't take the stress of trying to graduate, get my drivers liscence, work and regularly updating a fic to add to the mess. I'll graduate when I graduate. I hope ya'll like the first chapter to the second part of Fallen._

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."

-Robert Frost

**Chapter 1: The Game**

_**Tell me exactly what am I supposed to do**_

_**Now that I have allowed you to beat me**_

_**Do you think that we could play another game **_

_**Maybe I could win this time**_

Ever since his supposed death, Naraku had been laying low. His comfort had to be sacrificed for the sake of advancement. He haunted caves now to the far south, as opposed to his usual castles in odd locations. This tactic was doing him some good however. In a mere few months time, his power had grown exponentially. Since before then he had been plotting, scheming. This one had taken him months to perfect. Everything had been going beautifully, everything had fallen into place, but then some unexpected variable came into play. Everything, everything had gone to pot... again. It would seem that if the girl, or any of her friends were involved, his plans went to hell. It was all _her_ fault.

_**I gotta like the misery you put me through**_

_**Darling you can't trust me completely**_

_**If you even try to look the other way **_

_**I think that I could kill this time**_

That stupid wench always managed to foil his most elaborate of schemes. He had gone to the trouble of tricking the group into thinking he was dead by lifting the monk's curse. Then he tricked the two star-crossed lovers into thinking they had betrayed one another. Then finally the coupe de gras, he possessed Inuyasha in his weakened state. He went through all of that trouble and more only for Sesshoumaru to interfere. He had finally had an opportune moment to kill her and it just so happened that it was on his lands. Naraku growled loudly to himself, cursing Sesshoumaru all the while. That damned creature, for she surely could no longer be called human and youkai did not seem to be an accurate description either, had escaped his clutches and foiled his plans again. She had to pay.

"Kanna," he called as he paced the inner sanctum of his latest cave. The young ghostly looking detachment appeared carrying her mirror. Dutifully she stood before her creator, awaiting further instructions. She had been the only of his detachments that had been spared reobsorption.

_**It doesn't really seem I'm getting through to you**_

_**Though i see you weeping so sweetly  
I think that you might have to take another taste  
A little bit of hell this time**_

"Show me Kikyou," he requested, as he sat down on a nearby rock. The silver framed, smoky white mirror shimmered then a picture of a red and white clad figure lying in the forked limbs of an ancient tree appeared. Her soul stealers streamed around her dropping more souls in her vicinity. Her clothes were scorched in several places and her hair floated about her face in an inky cloud.

_**Lie to me**_

"Show me Inuyasha," he said. The mirror shimmered again and the image of the serene doll faded to be replaced by a seemingly empty clearing. "Where is he, Kanna? He is not here!" Naraku said, his voice rising slightly with his ire.

_**Never fucking lie to me!**_

"He is there," Kanna whispered softly.

The picture then zoomed in on a specific spot in the clearing. It was a mound of soil. Naraku frowned for a moment, not fully comprehending. As realization dawned, his frown turned to a scowl. His best weapon had been killed.

"How?" he growled. The mirror swirled and replayed the fight from the point at which he left. The volume of his growls grew. His plans had officially gone to hell in a hand basket. Sesshoumaru wasn't supposed to interfere.

Swiftly, Naraku rose from the out cropping rock on which he had seated himself upon. He paced the length of the cave growling to himself. He now had to rework the remainder of his plans. He had to eliminate the unexpected variables.

X

_kinda short, but eh... whatever. Read, enjoy and review if you feel the need._


	2. Faint

**Chapter 2: Faint**

He had been following her for a while now. Ever since that fight he had been watching her. She knew it. She knew the moment he showed up, just a couple of hours after the fight. Her tears had long since dried when he arrived. She was glad for it. She could not afford to look weak in front of him.

**_I am a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard  
Handful of complaints, but I can help the fact, that everybody can see these scars  
What I want you to want, what I want you to feel  
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe this is real_**

Though she gave no inkling, she knew he was there, just as he knew that she knew. Neither really cared that the other was aware of their presence either. At that particular moment in time, both wanted to be alone, yet feared it at the same time. However, both were too pig-headed and prideful to admit it, even to themselves. In their silence they shared a mutual bond. Both blamed themselves for what happened, even for the circumstances that surrounded the entire situation. The incident of just a few hours prior had shaken them to the core. Both had seen the look in Inuyasha's eyes just before the final blow was struck. In that one moment there was clarity. His red-fogged eyes had turned amber and one could see the pain reflected there. Those things weren't his fault. It was so easy to miss the fact that he was being controlled until that one moment. Those crimes were not his, but rather another's. Both blamed themselves, thinking they should have seen it earlier. Thinking they should have known better. Thinking that with all their power it meant absolutely nothing because they could do nothing to save the weakest of them all. One allowed a million 'what if' questions to flood their mind, while the other was silently brooding.

_**So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I've got**_

Sesshoumaru couldn't understand why he felt the way he did. All he could feel was regret and a sense of loss. That was far different from what he was expecting. But then again, at the time when he thought he would rejoice over his brother's death, they hadn't been on very good terms. He desperately wanted these feelings to go away, but he couldn't help thinking. 'Hadn't I just been brooding over the fact that this truce had ruined my fun? Hadn't I wanted to kill Inuyasha my whole life? ... Perhaps not.'

Like most things in life, Sesshoumaru did not know what he had until he had lost it.

Carelessly, Sesshoumaru pushed the offending emotions aside. It would do him no good to brood over this right now, or ever for that matter. He would just have to get passed the guilt and loss now. What was done was done. Deep in his subconscious he buried those emotions and all thought of his brother to be left there forever.

_**I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored**_

Well, he tried anyways.

Kagome was a whirlwind of confusion. Her mind and body were numb. Thoughts rushed through her head, yet she was thinking nothing. Inwardly she was screaming, crying. Outwardly she maintained a stone-faced calm.

She would conquer this. She had to.

_**I am a little bit insecure, a little unconfident  
'Cause you don't understand, I do what I can, but sometimes I don't make sense  
I say what you never wanna say, but I've never had a doubt  
It's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, for once just to hear me out**_

The day came and went. Night fell and they continued on some unknown path of which only their feet knew the way. Sesshoumaru did not know why he was compelled to follow this creature, only that something about her called to him. He was not impulsive, and yet he was following her without rhyme or reason. He would not be satisfied until he knew what exactly it was about her that caused him to ache for her in such manner. He racked his brain for a reason, a real reason but could find none forthcoming. 'She is still on my lands,' he reasoned. 'It's my duty to see that she does not cause problems.' He was not one to lie to himself and yet here he found himself doing so, if only to have a reason.

_**So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I've got**_

As several more hours wore on, Kagome became agitated. Another wave of emotion made its' way passed her barrier of shock and disbelief. She wanted to scream and cry, but her pride forbade her. She could not show weakness in front of him. Her walls began to crack and her emotions began to overwhelm her. 'What does he want with me?' her oversensitive mind hissed, trying to find a place to vent her anger. The remainder of her restraints began to crumble, and she could feel tears begin to gather. Before she could stop herself, as the last wall fell, she found herself rounding on her pursuer, screaming, "What the hell do you want with me?"

_**I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored**_

Sesshoumaru's ethereal form pulled from the shadows that hugged his glowing white form. He stared down the young phoenix, watching her as her chest heaved in her misplaced rage. He stood before her tall and proud, the epitome of perfection. "I do not have to want anything from you. You are still on my lands in spite of my warnings and for that I should kill you," he said softly.

_**Now  
Hear me out now**_

"Arrogant bastard," she hissed. "If you're going to kill me, the kill me! If not then leave me be!" she cried, the tears finally escaping their prison.

_**You're gonna listen to me, like it or not  
Right now**_

He merely stood there for several moments, baffled. None, save his brother, dared speak to him in such a disrespectful manner. His eyes slowly narrowed to slits in a deadly glare. Defiantly Kagome stared back.

_**Hear me out now  
You're gonna listen to me, like it or not  
Right now**_

"Do not presume to think that I will tolerate you on my lands much longer. My patience runs thin with you. Leave my lands or suffer the consequences," he growled out coldly.

_**I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me**_

The deadly undercurrents in his voice would have, at any other time, sent a trill of fear down Kagome's spine, but in this instance it only further enraged her. Something he had said had struck a nerve. Her talons lengthened to deadly points and her eyes flared red. She lunged for him, he preparing to defend himself, when she stopped. Something, something that apparently only she could sense, wafted to her on the breeze. To her it almost sounded like the ululation of a lost dog, looking for comfort or a friend.

_**I won't be ignored**_

Without warning or reason, Kagome bolted back in the direction from whence they had come. Something cold slid through the air, causing a shiver to run down Sesshoumaru's spine. Something struck him with an odd sense of urgency and he too turned in pursuit of the phantasm.

Onward Kagome raced through the dense foliage, jumping over fallen trees, dodging branches and roots. Something was calling out to her. Someone needed help. The smell of blood and death lingered in a specific clearing and Kagome realized that was where Inuyasha was killed. She skidded to a halt, and frantically looked around. The strange ululations were coming from this clearing. She looked around the clearing and realized there was not a body in sight. Slowly she turned until she came upon a mound of fresh churned earth. 'Sesshoumaru must have buried him there,' she thought. Behind her a blur of white appeared in the clearing, but remained stationary just in the shadows where he could not be seen.

_**I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me**_

Fresh tears came to Kagome's eyes as she slowly approached the grave. She stood there for several moments, staring down at the unmarked grave through tear-blurred eyes before she knelt down. She clasped her hands together over her heart and closed her eyes causing two tears to overflow down her face. She said a silent prayer for his soul, the wind picking up slightly increasing the volume of the cries. More tears slow after she finished her prayer and made their way to the ground.

_**I won't be ignored**_

Sesshoumaru watched in awe as the tears that made it to the ground caused small flowers to spring forth in their place. Never before had he seen such a power. It was amazing that she had managed to keep it hidden through all the years he had known her. Silently he mulled over her strange power and what he would do about it. She posed a possible threat. He watched silently as she prayed over his brother's grave and listened intently as she said her final goodbyes.

"I'm so sorry I doubted you," she miserably whispered. "I should have known, I should have been able to save you. You didn't deserve it, I know that now. You didn't deserve the way I treated you. You were my best friend and I abandoned you. I loved you and yet I let you die."

_**Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored**_

More tears flowed to the ground and some of moisture made its way through the porous soil. Enough of it made its way to his bloody form to heal the wounds of his dead body but not to revive it. Slowly a once tainted soul rose from the body and through the soil in thin wisps of pure white smoke.

_**I can't feel**_

_**I won't be ignored**_

"I'm so sorry I let you die the way you did. I'm sorry I left you the way I did."

_**Time won't heal**_

The rest of the soul rose from the earth and began to take on its earthly shape. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in a rare display of shock as the soul of his little brother slowly took shape. And of all this, Kagome remained unaware as her eyes were still closed.

"I loved you, Inuyasha, I always did. You just wouldn't let me..." she whispered before she opened her eyes. Her lids slowly slid up, revealing stunning blue eyes that widened at the otherworldly form before her. With a shocked gasp she quickly scrambled back and onto her feet.

_**Don't turn your back on me**_

"I love you too, Kagome," he whispered. "More than you'll ever know. ... Thank you," he said just before he ascended to the heavens above to await reincarnation.

"Goodbye," she whispered. She stood there for several moments watching the sky before she turned. She paused when she saw the white figure lurking in the shadows and for a moment she froze. For a moment she lost her senses at the sight of him. But then it passed and she brushed passed his motionless form.

_**I won't be ignored**_

_X_

_read, enjoy, review if you feel the need._

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	3. Crawling in the Dark

_Oh my god, guys, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update!! I have up to chapter 22 planned and up to chapter umm... 12... I think... written so I should be able to get the rest of the chapters out on a more regular basis. Now as far as my excuse... my disk kept deleting my work and I got so frustrated... so yea. Death threats will be accepted with love for my delay. Plus I'll try to post two chapters this time instead of just one. Once again, I'm really sorry guys. From now on, look out for me late night Saturdays. Love my faithful reviewers!!! (you know who your are) as for the rest of ya... HOP TO IT!_

**Chapter 3: Crawling in the Dark**

Sesshoumaru stood stock still for several moments after she passed him. Inwardly he was perplexed, if not, darest we say, confused. Four words drifted at the back of his mind, his unconscious holding onto them for just a moment before burying them. His pride would not allow for confusion, but he still couldn't help but voice those four words.

"What just happened here?"

**_I will dedicate  
And sacrifice my everything  
For just a second's worth  
Of how my story's ending_**

He should be angry. He should be upset. But he could feel nothing. He never felt anything, save anger. Even that did not actually affect him. That one emotion he felt, in a detached sense, as if it were someone else's anger and not his own that fuelled his actions. His pride demanded anger, but something was holding him back. Something he could not identify, but knew was holding his anger. It only added to his confusion.

**_And I wish I could know  
If the directions that I take  
And all the choices  
That I make  
Won't end up all for nothing_**

He stood there a moment more, before he began walking directly ahead, in the opposite direction from which she had gone. He headed home. Casually, almost, he strolled through the forests of his ancestral lands, lost in deep thought. Most of them revolved around the intriguing girl that was the bane of his existence. She was interesting to say the least, a true puzzle. How she managed to hide her youkai powers was an amazing feat. Also the fact that she was so obviously a rare breed of youkai also stunned him. Her breed was one that he had never encountered in his lifetime. He was not sure what she was, and that fact disturbed him greatly.

**_Show me what it's for  
Make me understand it  
I've been crawling in the dark  
Looking for the answer_**

She was very young, not fully developed. And yet the amount of power she possessed was great. It was a power that even he did not possess at that age and did not possess until he was well over a century old. Her power rivaled his own. Yes she wielded great power, but she lacked the skill to use it. Could it be that the power she possessed was something she was born with? But, why was she not trained to use that power? It was indeed a puzzle that left him with more questions than answers. Frustrated he decided it would be best to meditate on the subject on a later date.

**_Is there something more than  
What I've been handed?  
I've been crawling in the dark  
Looking for the answer_**

He looked up at the nearly pre-dawn sky and broke into a run at full speed. In a matter of minutes his fortress came into view, a large field expanding before it and he stopped just at the edge of the forest, on the crest of a small hill. There he watched the sun rise. This was his favorite pastime.

The black velvet sky slowly lightened to a dark gray as the sun neared, the stars fading one by one, the weakest being the first to disappear. Eventually all the of the stars, even the strongest and brightest of them surrendered to the encroaching sun, and became hidden behind a slowly lowering veil of brilliant blue. All that remained after a time was the moon, until even the silver disc became hidden behind that blue veil that painfully reminded him of her eyes. After the glorious sun had completely risen from its bed, Sesshoumaru finally turned and finished the last leg of his journey home.

**_Help me carry on  
Assure me it's OK  
To use my heart  
And not my eyes  
To navigate the darkness_**

As he entered the citadel and walked the great halls of his ancestors, he inhaled deeply. He was home. The patter of small feet on the wood floors alerted him to the small body that would come barreling around the corner and straight into his legs long before it happened. He smiled softly to himself, something he had taken to doing since Rin came into his life, though he only did it when he was alone. He paused in his path and waited. True to form, the young girl shot around the corner and wrapped herself around his legs. She looked up at him from her position and grinned toothily. Sesshoumaru, in response, reached out with his only arm and gently patted her on the head, giving her a slight nod.

"Hello!" the child chirped.

"Hello, Rin," Sesshoumaru replied. The child's smile grew and she detached herself from his legs. At that moment a green and brown blob holding a staff hobbled around the corner at an attempted run.

**_Will the ending be ever  
Coming suddenly?  
Will I ever get to see the  
Ending to my story?_**

"M-my lord," the toad like creature stuttered as he prostrated himself before his master.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru said, arching his eyebrow in silent question.

"All has run well in your absense, my lord," the toad reported as Sesshoumaru began walking towards his study.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru said over his shoulder, "Amuse yourself outside."

"Yes, my lord!" she enthusiastically called before bolting out the door from whence Sesshoumaru had just entered.

"Jaken," he said to his retainer. "Watch her," the undertones of a subtle threat evident under the soft tone.

**_Show me what it's for_**

_**Make me understand it  
I've been crawling in the dark  
Looking for the answer**_

Jaken bowed and quickly followed the young girl down the hall and out the door. The whole way he could be heard the imp muttering about filthy humans and being reduced to a baby sitter. Sesshoumaru merely smirked, amused, as he continued towards his study. The toad's voice quickly faded to nil as the door closed behind him.

Sesshoumaru sighed softly as he continued on his way. He had a great deal to meditate on. When he reached his study, he reached for the screen, but paused before his hand reached it. Delicately he scented the air, searching for the foreign element that alerted him to the presence of another. An unfamiliar scent wafted to him through the door and he scowled.

_**Is there something more than  
What I've been handed?  
I've been crawling in the dark  
Looking for the answer**_

Slowly, he slid the door open. In the room sat a woman that he had never seen before. Her crimson hair fell to her waist, blond highlights peppering the fiery length. Sharp silver eyes looked out from a lightly tanned face. Familiar flamed wings sprouted from her exposed back. Her kimono was unlike any Seshsoumaru had ever seen. The fabric dipped low so that her entire back was exposed. The front also dipped low, revealing ample cleavage, while two thin straps held it up. A wide skirt belled out from her slim waist and reached just above her ankles. Silver bangles adorned her wrists and a single silver anklet lined with bells wrapped around her left ankle, perfectly accenting her black and silver kimono. Her bare feet were silent on the wood floor as she rose and made her way to stand before the young lord. The only sound in the room was the chiming of the small bells on her anklet.

"My lord," she said in a chime like voice, as she bowed to him.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the youkai and then brushed passed her, seating himself on the scarlet cushion that she had just vacated. Before him lay a low table covered in various scrolls, papers, and ink. Quietly the woman turned and seated herself across from him.

"Speak," he commanded.

"My lord, I have a proposition for you."

Sesshoumaru scoffed lightly before he replied, "What could you possibly have to offer me that would be worth my while?"

"If you help me dispose of a... pest, I know of someone who could regenerate your arm."

The young lord raised an eyebrow, regarding the woman before him before he spoke. "If you cannot dispose of such a nuisance yourself then do not seek my assistance. I am not an assassin for hire."

The woman before him bristled slightly, her wings twitching slightly behind her. "And what of my generous reward?" she asked, demurely looking down at her folded hands in her lap.

"I would not trust someone who sneaks into my home like a common thief. Would you?"

Flames burst to life around the woman with her ire, dancing in a beautiful display of power. But just as quickly as they sprang to life, they were extinguished as she put a firm clamp on her anger. The only other indication as to her emotional distress was the rapid twitching of her wings as they flexed and relaxed. "Well," she purred as she leaned forward, and crawled over the low table, "is there anything else I can give you in addition to restoring your arm?"

Sesshoumaru waited for several moments, giving the flamed woman a gleaning of hope only to have it smashed as he roughly shoved her from his person growling angrily. "Remove yourself from my lands, wench!"

Angrily she rose to her feet, and glared at him for all she was worth. "Fine," she spat, flames dancing in her eyes and about her person. "You'll regret this," she screeched as she stormed out.

X

_alrighty guys, you know the gig. Read, enjoy, review if you so feel the need. Until next time._


	4. Numb

_Hey guys! I stayed home from school sick today so I figured I would type out another chapter for ya'll. Besides I said I'd try to get out another chapter soon because I had made ya'll wait so long. Thank you to all of my reviewers, I love you so much. You really encourage me to continue when I get discouraged. Really you do. _

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**Chapter 4: Numb**

Her name was Satyr. Her parents having been well traveled, and her father, like her brother, having the ability to see into the future, knew she would be a lust driven creature of pleasure. The term originated in Greece, but that was all she ever really cared to know. History and words were never really her thing. Her mother on the other hand, had a love for language and words, so that is who probably came up with such a ridiculous name. But the name was her own, so she never bothered to change it.

Her father, of course, was right, too. Her lust and greed were unparalleled, as was her temper. In her homeland she was known as Aiyoku the seductress, and she had many other names along similar lines all over the world. She was a mere myth, a legend to some, but to those who knew her, she was a curse. She held a power over men that allowed her to have any one she wanted. No man could resist her power... that is until _him._

The young Western Lord had denied her. For the first time in her life, she had been denied. Angrily she stormed out of the citadel. She stalked through the lands around the house trying to regroup, and come up with another plan. This was not something she was used to doing. Then she came across a field where a young girl was playing, picking flowers, and a small green imp was watching over her. A cruel smile crossed her features as she recognized the young girl. She was the Western Lord's ward. Swiftly she crept up to the girl's guardian, flexing her talons as she went. The imp, sensing something was wrong turned in time to see death coming. The two halves of his small body fell to the ground in a bloody heap. A shimmering dome formed around the field preventing any sound from escaping as she pounced on the child.

X

_**Bleeding now I'm  
Crying out I'm**_

Sesshoumaru had been meditating for several hours when the smell of burning flesh and screams reached his sensitive nose and ears. One word came to mind as he hastily stood. 'Rin.' Red seeped into the corners of his eyes as he sped from his study. About halfway to where he knew the child to be and the screams were silenced. And with that newfound silence, Sesshoumaru felt something akin to panic clutch his chest as his speed increased exponentially. When he reached the meadow, the sight that greeted him made his blood boil and his stomach churn.

_**Falling down and I'm  
Feeling nothing like**_

Tied to a stake in the middle of the clearing was the charred remains of what was once a child. Sesshoumaru scented the air, trying to catch the trail of the culprit, already knowing who it was, but the stench of blood and scorched flesh overpowered all else. Silently he approached what was left of the young girl and kneeled before her. Tentatively he reached out, as if to touch her, but drew back at the last moment. His hands were shaking. He quickly attributed that to his anger, but knew this was not the case. That was twice in two days he failed someone he cared for. To make matters worse, this last one was under his protection, was his responsibility. He had failed.

_**Laughing now I'm  
Stopping now I'm**_

With his claws, he sliced through the chains that held her in place and gently set her on the ground. Hastily he removed the top half of his outer garment and dressed the child. The charred remains of her clothing doing little to cover her frail body. If he would have allowed it, tears of grief would have formed and fallen, but they did not. He would not let them, if only for the sake of his pride.

_**Reaching out and I'm  
Feeling nothing**_

Rising to his feet, he drew his sword. With one swipe, all of her wounds healed. Her skin once again a healthy peach color, no longer blackened. But she did not awaken. The small angel lay motionless, in her oversized white garment.

Panic and frustration began to take hold and he sliced her again and again with the unresponsive sword. Still she did not awaken. He soon grew tired and sheathed his sword once more before dropping to his knees next to her. Gently he gathered her into his arm and cradled her still form to his chest. Moisture attempted to gather in his eyes, but he angrily blinked it away. Slowly he rose to his feet, his precious cargo still cradled to him. Wearily he headed back towards his home. After several paces, he froze, struck by some thought and turned. Like lightening he sped through the forest.

_**Yeah, you have created a rift within me  
Now there have been several complications  
that have left me feeling nothing  
**_

After what seemed an eternity, he caught up to that woman. She was sitting at a primitive camp, once again passing as a human as she ate. At his approach, she looked up from her meal, startled.

"Heal her," he said without preamble, thrusting the child at her.

"What?!" she cried, shocked beyond words that he would come to her for that.

"Heal her," he growled again.

_**I might say, you were wrong to take it from me  
Left me feeling nothing**_

Hastily, Kagome snatched the child from him, protectively clutching her to her bosom. "What did you do to her?" she hissed, her anger quickly rising.

"I did nothing," he scoffed.

"Then. What. Happened. To. Her?" Kagome growled, biting out each word, after not further answer was forthcoming from the lord.

_**Crawling now I'm  
Beaten down I'm**_

He watched her for a moment, before he decided it would be in the child's best interest if he answered her. "Some wench, similar in appearance to you did it for sport."

Kagome paled. "She's here. She's here much earlier than I expected," she murmured.

"What is your delay? Heal her!"

_**Tortured now and I'm  
Feeling nothing like**_

At the sound of his voice, Kagome snapped back to reality. "What happened to her?" Kagome whispered to herself, already knowing the answer. It was a reality she did not want to face. Tears formed in Kagome's eyes at the thought of her sister undergoing such horrors. "I supposed, you tried to use the Tenseiga on her, but she did not awaken," she whispered softly as a solitary tear fell from her eye and landed in Rin's hair. Several seconds passed, but nothing happened. The seconds quickly melted into minutes and still nothing happened. More tears fell.

Sesshoumaru began to growl in a threatening manner. His eyes bled an angry crimson, but he did not let his transformation go farther than that.

_**Hunting now I'm  
Stalking now I'm**_

Kagome gently kissed Rin's forehead and set her on the ground. Her eyes stared off at nothing when a familiar voice rang clear in her mind. 'Mayoke! Mayoke! You must hit her with your fire attack to revive her. She must be reborn. Do it now before her soul is lost forever!" her mother cried.

Sesshoumaru's growls increased in volume, but then went ignored. Angrily he charged, lifting Kagome by her neck and slamming her into a nearby tree as he slowly choked the life out of her.

_**Reaching out and I'm  
Killing nothing**_

"Do it now, Mayoke!" her mother urged.

Kagome's eyes glowed a fiery red. Her wings burst forth from her back, incinerating the tree behind her. Flames danced along her fingertips and at the corners of her eyes. Slowly, painfully, she lifted her left arm and rested it on his shoulder. There she held her hand out, and attempted to gather power.

Sesshoumaru's grip was slowly tightening, compressing her throat. Her power was slowly fading with her oxygen supply. As she began to struggle desperately in vain, he pulled her closer to him, so that they were nose to nose.

_**I can feel you ripping and tearing  
Feeding and growing inside of me**_

"Now, you die," he whispered, as his claws began to glow an angry green.

Panicking, Kagome did the only thing she could think to do. Shock the pants off of him. Roughly she closed the few centimeters separating their lips. Sesshoumaru stiffened in shock at first, but then slowly melted into the kiss, hungrily responding with a fervor that astonished Kagome. His grip on her neck loosened considerably, and the poison receded back from whence it came. Gently, he pried her lips open, gaining access to her sweet mouth. As the kiss continued to deepen and take on a new meaning that bonded their souls together, Kagome remembered her mission, having nearly lost sight of it. Her left hand curled to tangle itself in his silken hair while she lifted the other and rested it gently over his other shoulder.

_**I want this, more than you know  
I need this, give it back to me**_

From there she quickly gathered her power, forming a ball of flame and released it. Though she did not see it, she knew it had hit its mark when he pushed her away. For the moment, he ignored her, choosing to see to the child. He turned in time to see the child's body turn to ash. He roared his anger as he turned back to bear down on a shocked Kagome. She merely sat on the ground wide eyed, as her fingers slowly came up to her swollen lips. The body of ash behind Sesshoumaru exploded upward as he approached Kagome. As his hand closed around her throat, a young bird of prey rose from the ashes with a piercing shriek. It went unheard over the roaring of blood in Sesshoumaru's ears, and the beating of Kagome's heart in her ears. The bird landed on the ground and quickly began to take a humanoid shape of a young girl in a yellow kimono.

"Stop!" the child shrieked once her transformation was complete. Her plea also went unheard. Rin could clearly see that time was running out for her sister, so she did the only thing she knew she could do. In an act of desperation, she attacked her father figure to save her sister.

When the ball of flame hit his back, Sesshoumaru tensed before dropping the treacherous woman and rounding on his next victim. When he saw his attacker, he froze, his eyes wide in an uncharacteristic display of shock.

"Rin," he breathed. Tears welled in the young girl's eyes as she launched herself at him. She hit his waist with a force that sent him to his knees, but he did not care.

"Please for give me!" she cried. "But I had to do it. You were killing her! I couldn't let my sister die!" the rest of her words were lost in her sobbing. Tentatively, Sesshoumaru began to stroke her hair in a soothing manner, not sure how to calm her.

The child suddenly froze, her forms stiff as she slowly pulled away and looked around. When her eyes lighted on her sister's still form, her breath became choked. Quickly she rushed to her sister's lifeless body and kneeled beside her. Kagome's lips were blue, her skin was a ghastly white, and no blood rushed through her veins.

"Mayoke!" Rin cried, roughly shaking Kagome's shoulder. "Wake up, Mayoke!"

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow in confusion. He knew not who this Mayoke was, but he knew that this creature was not she. This woman was his brother's wench.

Desperately, Rin tried to call her back, but words alone would not cause her to stir. As her sobs grew in intensity, her body began to glow an eerie yellow color, her eyes being taken over by it. The intensity of the light emanating from her was enough to rival the sun and Sesshoumaru was forced to turn away or be blinded.

When the light receded, Rin was breathing heavily. But she smiled happily as she looked down at her sister. Color had returned to Kagome's skin, her lips were once again a rosy pink, and she breathed lightly as in sleep. Rin sighed happily and tried to stand. She stayed shakily on her feet for only a few seconds before her eyes rolled back into her head.

Seshoumaru rushed forward and gently caught her. Sighing he set her on the ground next to the other creature and began to set up camp. He would watch over them this night, but in the morning he wanted answers.

X

_You should all know the drill by now. Read, enjoy, review if you want me to update... I mean if you feel the need._


	5. Poem

**Chapter 5: Poem**

The next morning Kagome awoke refreshed. She smiled to her self as she slowly lifted one eye open only to close it again a moment later. "Gah, bright," she moaned as she squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. She rolled over, feeling the cool grass tickle her face. Sighing, she covered her head with her arms, shielding it from the annoying morning sunlight. "What I wouldn't give for a bed with a fluffy pillow and clean sheets," she grumbled, nearly incomprehensibly, to herself.

"It's about time you woke up, wench," a cool voice stated from the left of her.

Startled, she sprung up, launching herself into the air. Her wings burst to life, lifting her once she began to lose altitude, bringing to rest safely on a sturdy branch high in the tree. Her wings twitched agitatedly as she glared down at the source of the voice. The glare wasn't very intimidating, however, because she was glaring in the totally opposite direction of her target. As the temporary blindness caused by the sudden influx of sunlight faded, she blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to completely dispel the dots that clouded her vision. She very much resembled an owl, perched the way she was, blinking like that.

Laughter from below startled her, causing her to lose her balance. In vain, she flailed her arms, trying to regain her precious balance, completely forgetting that she had two very capable wings. Squeezing her eyes shut, she whimpered slightly as she felt the air rush passed her. The air in her lungs left her in a loud 'whoosh' as she hit something surprisingly soft, yet hard.

"Mayoke is funny," Rin giggled.

"Rin!" Kagome shrieked after she recovered her breath. "You know who I am? You remember me?" she excitedly questioned as she sat up. The cushioning below her shifted as she bounced around excitedly, and Kagome suddenly shrieked again when it spoke, interrupting her line of questioning.

"Wench, you would do well to remove yourself from this Sesshoumaru before I do it myself," he growled.

Kagome hastily scrambled to her feet, blushing an interesting shade of red. It almost looked unhealthy. Actually, it looked very unhealthy and with her mouth hanging open the way it was as she tried to conjure up a retort, she looked like she might just die.

In the background, Rin laughed uncontrollably, rolling on the ground with her mirth. The sleeves of her pale yellow kimono flailed about her as she tried to gain control of herself, but to no avail. Her poor kimono began to gather some unattractive black smudges from the dirt and grass stains. Both adults could see the child in their peripheral vision and recovered enough to reprimand her.

"Rin!" both said sharply at the same time.

Hastily the child attempted to rise, while catching her breath. But, in her haste to stand she failed to realize that her kimono was completely tangled around her legs and she promptly fell back onto her bottom. There she looked up at them with wide eyes before she began to laugh hysterically again. Eventually, her laughter stopped, and she slowly, this time, rose and began to straighten out her kimono. Completely disregarding the gawking adults, she looked down at her kimono and frowned at the large amount of stains. A look of deep concentration crossed her features for a moment, before she snapped her fingers completely eradicating any stains. The child beamed brightly, but then that smile dissipated as she noticed the tension between the adults. An awkward silence fell over the trio.

"Well, I have to continue on my way," Kagome suddenly burst out, wanting to end the silence.

"Mayoke!" Rin cried, "I don't want you to leave!"

"Rin, I have to," she gently replied. The child looked up at her with large, teary eyes and pouted cutely. Kagome leaned down and gently hugged her sister. She softly kissed her on the forehead as she pulled away. "I have to," she whispered, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You're not leaving until I get some answers," that damnable voice stated from behind her.

Kagome's posture stiffened as she slowly rose to her feet. Something dangerous flashed in her eyes as she turned to face him. "I don't have to answer to you," she stated with a deadly calm, stubbornly refusing him. From behind, she could hear her sister begin to gently cry and her resolve faltered.

"You're on my lands, bitch. You have to answer to me so long as you're here."

With those words, her resolve once again gained strength as her stubborn pride fuelled her on. "Well, I wouldn't have been here very long if you had just let me leave!" she hissed. Behind her she could hear the intensity of her sister's cries strengthen and her resolve began to waver once more.

"Mayoke, please stay for at least a little bit," Rin whispered through her tears. With that, Kagome's resolve shattered and she heaved a heavy sigh.

"Fine," Kagome said, defeated. There was no way she could ever stand the tears of a child... especially not her little Shippou. With that thought tears gathered in her eyes and she choked down a sob. She turned her back on both Sesshoumaru and her sister, if only to save her pride as the tears continued to fall.

"Good," Sesshoumaru said with a smirk. "Let's go home, Rin." His cloud quickly took shape under his feet, and the child hopped on next to him. He looked to Kagome and raised an eyebrow in silent question when she stayed with her back to them and quickly took to the skies. She ascended to the treetops and then stopped, waiting for him to lead the way. Slowly, he too ascended to the skies. He looked to the west, before heading to the heart of his lands.

Along the way, long after the tears had been dried by the harsh winds, Kagome silently screamed at herself for being so vulnerable to children. However, her thoughts were often interrupted by an eager Rin, who would sporadically ask questions about her wings, how to hide them, etc.

Patiently, Kagome would answer each one, in a distracted manner that didn't seem to faze Rin in the slightest. To put the frosting on the proverbial cake, aside from dealing with her sister and her thoughts of her son, she was still hung up on that damned kiss. 'It was nothing!' she kept screaming at herself, but no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she still couldn't make it seem true. Never before had she been kissed like that, and frankly, it shook her very soul.

From the corners of their vision they would look at one another, Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Each one wondered what the other was thinking, wondering if the kiss had affected the other in the same way. Little did they know, that kiss had shaken them both, silently they wondered why they were so affected, and tried to nullify such thoughts.

Sesshoumaru was mentally berating himself for his loss of control. Never before had that happened to him and now, he had just shown her a weakness. A weakness that would prove deadly to him if it were any other female, but he failed to realize that this one was different. All he could see was that she was female, and as was characteristic of her sex, she would exploit any weakness a man shows. Such was to be expected from what he saw as the treacherous sex. However, he would be lying if he said that he didn't want to kiss her again, and that was where the problem lies. No matter how much he wanted to kiss her, for whatever psychotic reasons, he did not want to deal with the consequences that he just knew would come with it. If he were to kiss her again, that would lead to another and another, for his was a thirst that could not easily be quenched. Eventually kissing would lead to other things and she would somehow worm her way into his heart. Once there, she would take everything he had in his vulnerable state and then slowly kill him with it. Such would be the power that a female could potentially hold over a male, if the wrong female captured the right male's heart. That was not an option. No, he resolved, he would not kiss her again, he would kill her if she tried to kiss him. It was better that way.

Finally the fortress came into view, and everyone sighed a mental sigh of relief. Sesshoumaru, sensing something was wrong, landed a ways from his citadel and delicately scented the air. Kagome dropped down nearby and did the same, though her olfactory senses were inferior to that of a dog demon. Walking forward a few hundred feet, she scented the air again, and recoiled at the stench of blood. Hastily she retreated, and came to a halt a few feet away from Sesshoumaru and her sister.

"Stay here," Sesshoumaru ordered the girls as he began to trek forward. He did not want Rin to see what he knew lay inside, nor did he want to leave her unguarded if the threat still remained. Slowly, cautiously, he stalked inside, shielding his nose from the combined stenches of blood and the beginnings of decomposing flesh. In the antechamber, on of his oldest, most trustworthy servants, save Jaken lay dead.

Jaken.

Sesshoumaru had forgotten him in the rush to save Rin. He, no doubt, also lay dead in Rin's field. As he inspected the rest of his home, he found that all of his servants lay dead, including the few soldiers who lived there. The stench was overpowering. Quickly he went to Rin's room, grabbing her a fresh change of clothing before he headed back the way he had come.

_**Over-bearing panic attack entrenching my veins  
in an hour I'll be ok  
I pray this pain will go away permanently someday**_

When he exited the citadel, he inhaled deeply in an attempt to clear his lungs of the god-awful stench of blood. The sight that met him, he would have found rather endearing had he been anyone else. The older of the two girls, held the smaller one on her lap and was talking quietly with her, as the sunlight filtered through the tree that they had taken temporary residence under. He paused for a moment, not wanting to disturb them for some unknown reason, and watched them. Rin had never looked so happy to him before. Stealthily he crept closer to them and discretely listened in on their conversation.

"Did you talk to mommy? Is that how you knew where to find Rin?" the young girl asked.

"Yes, and she sends her love," Kagome gently replied.

The younger girl's face scrunched up for a moment in concentration before she finally replied, "The last time Rin spoke to mommy was when she put Rin to sleep. That was before she hid me away."

_**I'VE seen more than...  
I should have to...  
I'VE seen this on my own**_

"Well, the last time I spoke to mama, was when she visited me in my dreams. That was how I knew how to wake you up, but I think that was the only time she could do that."

"Nuh uh!" Rin cried, a smile forming on her chubby face.

"Oh?" Kagome haughtily replied, a joking lilt coloring her voice. "And how would you know that?"

"I just do," Rin confidently replied.

"Oh really," Kagome replied skeptically. There was a few moments of silence before a devious grin formed on Kagome's face. Rin shrieked with laughter as Kagome mercilessly tickled the young girl. It was at that moment that Sesshoumaru chose to make his presence known. It angered him to some extent to know that they were both so oblivious to their surroundings as to not notice his presence. He cleared his throat loudly, causing both girls to freeze.

"I promised you we would camp out by the lake one night, did I not, Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked. Rin squealed in delight as she vigorously nodded her head in affirmation.

"Come then," he sad as he began walking to the east. Along the way, Rin ran from flower to flower picking the exceptionally beautiful while leaving the rest. They reached the lake after a couple of miles, by then her hands were full of a beautiful assortment of flowers.

_**this song is a,  
poem to myself,  
it helps me to live...**_

Once there, Sesshmoumaru handed Rin her fresh clothing and informed them he was going hunting. Wisely the girls took that time as an opportunity to bathe and change. By the time Sesshoumaru returned with the cleaned meat, which was wrapped in the animal's hide, the girls had a hearty fire going a good thirty feet into the forest, in a spacious clearing with plenty of extra wood.

The meal was cooked and eaten in a heavy silence. Once Rin feel asleep, however, Sesshoumaru began his interrogation.

"Who are you really?" Sesshoumaru asked, getting right to the point. "Rin calls you by one name, while my brother and his friends called you by another."

_**in case of fire,  
BREAK the glass,  
and move on into your own...**_

"The girl Rin refers to is dead, she died with her parents about fourteen years ago. But the girl Inuyasha and my friends refer to is also dead," she cryptically replied.

"Explain," Seshsoumaru countered slightly miffed that she was being evasive.

"You see, I am both Kagome and Mayoke, but they are both dead. Here, in my homeland, Mayoke is dead. She died with her parents at the age of six, or rather she should have. And where I come from, Kagome is dead, she also died at the age of six, but I took her place. However, I am rightfully Mayoke. That is why I am both, yet neither at the same time," she explained.

Sesshoumaru seemed satisfied with her answer, thinking momentarily before posing his next question. "Why is it both you and Rin appeared human until recently?"

_**this song is a,  
poem to myself,  
it helps me to live...**_

Kagome answered the question in brief, not wanting to go too deeply into that subject area. Silently she pray that would be all he would ask, but knew there would be at least one more question, which she did not want to answer.

"What breed youkai are you?" he asked.

Kagome paled slightly, having known that the subject matter would eventually come up, but hesitated in tell him. For several moments, she fought with herself, trying to come to a decision with her dilemma, but there was no easy way out of this one. Finally she settled on the truth, and prayed she was doing right in telling him this, not completely sure she could trust him. She took a deep breath before replying, "Rin and I... we are the last survivors of the Phoenix Clan."

Sesshoumaru paused a moment, before he replied, "I suspected as much, though you should know that you two are not the only ones left," at his last statement, Kagome nodded slightly.

"I know,' she replied. "There is one other... I have been expecting her, but to be honest, she is here much earlier than I had anticipated."

**_in case of fire,  
BREAK the glass,  
and move on into your own..._**

Rin stirred beside Kagome, whimpering slightly in her sleep. Instinctively, Kagome reached over and began to soothingly run her fingers through the child's hair. Rin instantly clamed and settled into a deeper slumber.

"Why was she not with you?" Sesshoumaru asked after several moments silence, gesturing towards Rin.

_**Reoccurring drowning effect entrenching my brain,  
I hope you'll be ok someday,  
so I can say that you moved on in the right way...**_

"She technically died with my mother, but was granted the chance at life she did not receive the first time," she replied sighing.

"And what of you? How did you survive?" Sesshoumaru found himself asking.

"That I would rather not talk to you about," Kagome said rising from her place and walking slowly from camp.

_**WE'VE seen this and  
WE'VE breathed this and  
WE'VE lived this on our own...**_

After a few moments she made her way to the lake and quietly approached the lake's shore. There she watched the moon dance on its surface as the water rippled with the soft waves created by the movement of the aquatic creatures. After a few moments, she waded waist deep into the water. Silently she looked down at the crystalline surface, staring into its clear depths. How she desperately wished her future was that clear. After several more moments, she lay back into the water, allowing her feet to rise out from under her and float to the surface. There she lay as she gently floated with the currents of the water. From her vantage point she could see the clouds rushing passed the stars and the moon. Occasionally the clouds would cross the moon's path, leaving everything in complete darkness before it emerged again bathing the land in its light. Hours seemed to pass as she contemplated her life. She sighed softly as tears began to gather in her eyes and slowly ran out the corners to slide down her cheeks and into the water below, creating small ripples in their wake.

_**this song is a,  
poem to myself,  
it helps me to live...**_

"Why is life so hard?" she whispered to the stars. Silently she wished to know their secrets, to know how it is they could shine their light upon the land and remain so unaffected by the passage of time. "Why do things have to be this way?" More tears gathered and she closed her eyes sealing them away in their prison.

_**in case of fire,  
BREAK the glass,  
and move on into your own...  
your own...**_

"You know," that damnable cool voice said from the shore, causing Kagome to jump and flail as she lost her balance on the water's surface and began to sink, "it would not be good for you to fall asleep there. You would very well drown," he continued unaffected by Kagome's near drowning experience.

"Jerk," Kagome muttered as she recovered from her coughing fit and began wading to the shore. She glared at his vaguely amused visage before stomping passed him with all the dignity one can have looking for all the world like a drowned kitten.

_**BREAK...**_

He quickly followed her, intent on not being ignored. Just before they reached camp, his arm shot out, snagging hers. Angrily he swung her around, pinning her to a tree. He glared angrily at her before he became lost in her eyes. He stared intently into her eyes for what seemed an eternity, completely forgetting his intent on dealing with her insolence. At that moment he lost himself. He was silently drowning in those blue depths until she closed her eyes and turned her head away, effectively snapping him back to reality.

_**this song is a,  
poem to myself,  
it helps me to live...**_

Gently he grasped her chin and pulled her face back towards him. Once there, he stared at her countenance intently before he leaned down and gently caressed her soft lips with his own for a second time.

Her eyes snapped open for a moment before they slowly slid closed and she moaned softly in pure bliss. As she began to hungrily respond to the kiss both reveled in the feel of the other. A soft breeze passed them lifting strands of their hair and rustling the dead leaves around them in a small cyclone on the forest floor.

_**in case of fire,  
BREAK the glass,  
and move on into your own...**_

As they pulled again, gasping for breath, they caught the sounds of Rin whimpering softly. Blushing an attractive shade of pink, Kagome pulled completely away from him and went to check on her sister. Sesshoumaru stayed rooted to the spot for a moment before he too returned to the campsite.


	6. The Virus of Life

**Chapter 6: The Virus of Life**

_**I can see you but you can't see me   
I'd protect you if you wouldn't, kill me   
Are you certain that you fell down?   
I'm just waiting, so you really let your gun down?**_

He watched them through the mirror of his remaining incarnation and scowled. This would be much more difficult than he had originally anticipated. If those two were to form a strong bond of anytime, they would be next to impossible to separate and virtually impossible to beat. He growled viciously to himself, causing his offspring to involuntarily shiver in fright. He needed to think of a way to separate them fast before something like that happened. But the question was how, and whom could he send in. Kanna would be no match for either, separate or alone, and he had no one else to send. It was times like these that he wished he had kept Kagura around, but she was a threat that could no longer be ignored. That and she was disposable.

His scowl deepened as he delved deeper into his subconscious, trying to find a way to separate those two. He could not fool them as easily as he had Kikyou and Inuyasha and later Kagome and Inuyasha. This would be much, much more difficult a task. This design would have to be of a much higher scale than that of his former plans. This would have to be one of his most elaborate of plots. This in no way could follow his usual form.

_**Your relaxed, your sublime, your amazing   
You don't even know the danger you're facing   
If I'm quiet, I'll slide up behind you   
And if you hear me I'll make sure to try to find you**_

Annoyed to no end that he would have to go to these lengths, he growled as he continued studying them. They were oblivious to his presence, looming just over their shoulders. That thought cheered him somewhat. He had managed to outwit them in that aspect. He could watch them whenever and wherever he so chose, the only downside was that he could not hear them. For that he required his saimyousho, but they would easily be detected by demons of that caliber. The scowl returned as that thought greatly annoyed him. Some things could just be too perfect, until you find the flaws later down the road.

"Kanna," his smooth voice slithered from his vocal cords, caressing the young demoness in a manner that caused her to shiver once more in fright. It was horrifying, being the sole remaining incarnation of her master. "Show me someone who possesses a great evil in their soul. Show me someone who might have an objective that would cause them to willingly enter into my service," he said softly.

_**The violet's down   
Don't get to make a sound   
Oh God I'm feeling it   
It's making feeling pecks**_

The mirror before him rippled and then slowly clouded over, the colors blending, creating a gray fog-like sheen over the mirror. Then the colors once again began to separate themselves, forming a picture. Eventually a woman appeared through the fog as the blurry colors took on a more definite shape.

The woman was dressed in a black and silver kimono of odd design. Bracelets adorned her wrists and a single anklet, covered with bells, adorned her left ankle. Her black hair was pulled up in a high bun keeping all hair from her from her face and neck. For all inents and purposes, she appeared human.

_**My skin is caving in   
My heart is craving out   
No mercy, no remorse   
And its going off course**_

"Kanna, what is the meaning of this?"

"Watch," she whispered in a small, child-like voice.

_**(watch me) Bring me to my knees   
(waiting) I am your disease**_

Naraku snarled, but complied, watching as the woman delicately walked down the corridors of the palace of some local lord. Her steps were measured and slow as she sedately glided through. Finally she stopped at a particular door. She lightly knocked, and patiently awaited a reply, before she slid the door open and disappeared into the room. Several moments passed before a suspicious fire licked its way through the door, eating it away completely before all went still. A moment or so passed before the fire rushed out of the room, creating a conflagration that would decimate all that lay in its path.

_**(lover) Can I step down please   
(lover) You don't love me**_

A smirk slowly formed, replacing the scowl as comprehension dawned. "Well done, Kanna," Naraku cooed as a plan was quickly taking shape in his mind. His excitement was peaked with the sudden appearance of this devil. Now all he needed to do was find this creature and work up a deal with her. Surely there was some way they could come to an agreement.

X

_**This is the virus   
THE VIRUS OF LIFE**_

Her dirty work was done. And what fun it was. When she had returned from her errands, the master of the palace had demanded an explanation for her disappearance. When she had received orders to meet him in his chambers, she knew that if she did not have an explanation, he would order her death. No matter.

_**It gets inside us   
AND HURTS US INSIDE**_

With measured steps, she slowly but surely made her way to his side. Once there she slipped completely into her demure façade and softly knocked on the door. When he angry bellow bid her enter, she did so with her head tilted down, in a mock submissive position, a smirk adorning her lips.

_**This is the virus   
THE VIRUS OF LIFE**_

Angrily the lord grabbed her, and threw her to his bed, where he proceeded to cure and yell at her. The smirk slowly grew to a smile, which soon turned to full out laughter. Her soft brown eyes turned to liquid mercury, and the blackest ink that was her hair melted away revealing fire red hair with blonde highlights. The lord's anger quickly turned to fear as her wings sparked to life and it was then he realized his life was forfeit. This demonic creature would surely not let him leave with his life if she possessed a laugh so evil, and eyes so malicious. The man before her trembled, losing control of his bladder as she slowly rose, flames dancing about her person. In a flash her body had spontaneously combusted, bursting into flame, which turned anything it touched to ash in an instant.

_**This is inside us   
THE ONE THAT CONNECTS**_

X

_**It's almost time to play   
It's time to be afraid   
I can't control the pain   
I can't control in me   
I'm glad I'm ready now   
You're almost ready now   
I'm gunna raid it now   
I'm gonna break it down**_

Naraku laughed as he continued watching long after the images had faded. Things would work perfectly this time, he was sure of it. Inside his minds eye, he pictured the woman of Kanna's mirror and smirked. She was a lovely creature indeed. How he ached to know her name, to know what talents she held within that mind and body of hers. Then in an instant, his expression changed and he curtly ordered Kanna to show him the miko bitch and her taiyoukai.

_**I see you in the dark   
I see you all the way   
I see you in the light   
I see you bright as day**_

His eyes narrowed as he watched them go about their business. Silently he cursed the fact that he would have to wait even longer than before. Furthermore, he had made a near fatal mistake in revealing himself the way he did, but that would be a mistake that he would quickly and efficiently rectify. Then once again his moods changed and he laughed silently to himself.

_**I wanna suck your face   
I wanna suck your soul   
I wanna wear your face   
I WANT TO BREAK IT ALL**_

The excitement was slowly washing over him in waves, reaching him like tides. There they tickled his brain, before they drew back, only to return their playful fingers. This was something he had been waiting for, for a very long time. His red eyes glowed with an eerie light as he envisioned his plan unfolding, each step falling into place like a jigsaw puzzle. The anticipation was welling inside him, soon growing to be too much for him to bear, but he was a creature of patience. He could wait for however long it took. He would be the bane of their existence, he would be their deaths if it was the last thing he did.

_**   
This is the virus, the virus of life**_

_**X   
**Well guys, sorry it's taken me so long. School and work have been bitches. But, well, here I am, so I hope ya'll enjoy this one. I know I had fun writing it. I just love the darker side to everything and The Virus of Life is one of my favorite songs by slipknot, besides vermillion and duality._


	7. Time Machine

**Chapter 7: Time Machine**

A goofy smile had momentarily crossed Sesshoumaru's face after she left, before he quickly quashed it along with the warm fuzzies that seemed to invade his brain. Angrily, he growled to himself before he stalked off after her. He desperately needed to get that insufferable wench away from him before he did something he would later regret.

As he entered camp, he froze. The sight that greeted him made his blood boil and freeze at the same time as the last traces of warmth left his eyes to be quickly replaced with a look of cold hard hatred. A feral growl escaped his throat and he had to contain himself from launching at the bitch that dared touch his child. It would do the child no good, for the woman held the child in a dangerous position. The woman, whom Sesshoumaru had never gotten her name, stood, holding his precious Rin, with her black talons at her throat.

**_Oh what are you gonna do   
When there's a part of you   
That needs to run with the wind_**

Directly before him stood Kagome, anger and hatred radiating from her aura as well as concern for her little sister. Her wings, released from their confines, twitching rapidly in time with her anger. Ruby colored flames dances about her person and shone in her eyes, though Sesshoumaru couldn't see it form his vantage point at that moment. She was a magnificent sight, crouched low to the ground, her wings spread wide as she clutched her left side. Blood trickled through her fingers at a steady rate and fell to the ground where it immediately burst into flames and disappeared in a puff of smoke just as quickly.

Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru stepped around her crouched form to stand protectively before her. He did not know why he took such action and it was something that would greatly baffle his mind later on. All he knew at that moment was a desperate need to protect her, but that he quickly and simply wrote off as the fact that she was Rin's sister. Rin would be upset if her sister died.

**_And the fire of burning yesterdays   
Can only light the way   
To lead you from   
The garden of the dark   
Stay out of shadows_**

"Satyr," Kagome hissed from behind Sesshoumaru as she stiffly rose to her feet, "let her go. Your fight is with me."

"Really? If that's the case, then tell your little guard dog to back off," she laughed.

Slowly, Kagome released the pressure on her wound, looking down at it momentarily, before her blazing gaze rose to meet Satyr's once more. With measured steps, Kagome moved to stand beside the living statue. "What you fail to realize," she began, "is that by holding Rin captive, you make it his fight, as well. He does not enter this for my sake. Release the child and he will have no reason to interfere."

**_Now look like the change is on   
Tomorrow's never gone   
Today just never comes_**

"That's where you're wrong, child. I've seen into his mind. He would protect you if only for the sake of our sweet Rin," she said moving her hand to gently caress Rin's cheek. Sesshoumaru growled low in his throat at the action and Kagome hissed in kind.

"Obligation or no, he will not interfere," she growled out, the red bleeding from her eyes to be replaced with a white so pure, heaven itself would be shamed by its purity. Lightening sparked in her eyes, and a pale pink ball formed in her right hand.

**_Go on and jump,yeah   
Into the hurricane   
You will forger the pain_**

**_It's only there   
To exorcise your mind_**

The opposing phoenix acted in kind. Her eyes flared greed, but nothing else seemed to happen. Then the ground began to tremble and crack. The trees began to writhe and groan. Claw like branches reached out for Kagome and Sesshoumaru causing them both to dodge, as they attacked one after another.

The white in Kagome's eyes was quickly being taken over by the deepest of blacks as she simultaneously blasted the trees around her with miasma, melting them, and counteracting Satyr's power. The trees then paused for a moment, as if uncertain, before they began to turn on each other. Satyr screamed, dropping Rin to clutch her head between her hands. Rin quickly picked herself up off the turbulent ground and ran to safety, hiding behind Sesshoumaru, who stood on the sidelines like a rock, completely unmoving. Satyr's eyes turned purple as she desperately tried to shove Kagome out of her mind. Eventually, she prevailed, forcing Kagome out. Both women stood weakly glaring at each other as the ground continued to tremble with the after effects of two forces of such awesome and raw power clashing.

**_Oh what are you gonna do   
When every part of you   
Just needs to catch the wind_**

"You're good for one who is untrained. Too bad that was only a fraction of my power," she grinned as she said this. "I hope you're better prepared next time," she purred as her form burst into flames and dissipated.

Kagome stood rooted to the spot for several moments staring blankly off into empty space. She stared as if transfixed to a point in space that was invisible to both Rin and Sesshoumaru. Then without warning, her eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped like a stone.

_**And the fire of burning yesterdays   
Can only light the way   
To lead you from   
The garden of the dark**_

X

Several minutes had passed as both watched Kagome, completely shocked, before both moved. Rin rushed to her side and sat there for several moments before Sesshoumaru decided it would be a good idea to move. Several moments after that, Kagome's unfocused eyes fluttered open to see a face hovering mere inches above her own. As her vision cleared, the first thing she was able to distinguish was a rather large pair of wide brown eyes.

"Rin," Kagome groaned as she slowly sat up, a hand holding her head while the other held her up. "Are you ok?"

The child nodded vigorously, bouncing around on her feet. "Yep, yep, Rin's ok!" was all that could be made out before the child began to rant. Occasional words could be made out in the midst of the jumbled mass of unintelligible chatter and nothing more. Eventually the child calmed enough to sit still and later go back to sleep nestled against Kagome's uninjured side.

Kagome pensively looked up at the sky leaning against a tree in their new camp. "When did we move?" Kagome somewhat stupidly muttered to herself.

"We moved while you were out," the white figure simply answered.

"No duh," she muttered. Sesshoumaru merely raised an eyebrow, but chose not to reply.

Her gaze fell upon the moon and she sighed softly. She unconsciously brought the tips of her clawed fingers to her lips and sighed once more. She could still feel his lips upon hers, a mere phantom of her memory. Sighing once more, she lowered her hand and then her gaze to her left side. Gently she pulled the bloody fabric away from her side to see that the wound was completely healed. Rin stirred beside her and she turned her attention to the child, gently running her fingers through her hair.

Through it all, Sesshoumaru looked on entranced by the moon-bathed angel. He looked on, almost mesmerized. The creature before him was beautiful and deadly, fierce and compassionate, intelligent yet naieve. She was pure. She was everything he could ever want in a woman. She held a fiery spirit that yielded to no one and an iron will that could very well rival his own. She could very well be a suitable... Angrily he began to mercilessly quash the damnable little voice that continued to fill his head with such thoughts.

Kagome was startled form her reverie by Sesshoumaru's abrupt departure. "Wonder what got his panties in a bunch," she muttered to herself before she once again turned back to inspecting the heavenly bodies. She saw a brief flash of light from the corner of her eye and sighed. Though he was not directly in her presence, Kagome fell asleep that night, feeling safe in the fact that he was nearby.

X

_ok, I'm a day late with the next chapter that I promised my Single Spark people, but here it is, so read, enjoy, and review if you feel the need._


	8. The World is Not Enough

**Chapter 8: The World is Not Enough**

_**I know how to hurt   
I know how to kill   
I know what to show**_

Her back arched as she reached her completion, a breathy moan escaping her lips. As she rode out the waves of euphoria, she lie still, her thoughts troubled. With a distinct frown, she thought. This in itself greatly disturbed her. She'd been having to do a lot more of that than usual, here lately. It was not something she found pleasant. She was so used to using her looks and her body as her main tool to gain whatever it is she wished, she was having a hard time coping.

**_And what to conceal   
I know when to talk   
And I know when to touch   
No one ever died from wanting too much_**

The man that lay atop her, spent, finally rolled away, exposing her to the cool air of the night. Her body shivered slightly at the sudden influx of cool air on her sweat soaked body, but her mind paid it no heed. She was too lost in thought to move to pull up the thin sheet that was the difference between shivering and the comfort of blissful warmth. She was a creature of comforts, but in her distracted state of mind, it was an easy thing to miss, those little things.

**_The world is not enough   
But it is such a perfect place to start, my love   
And if you're strong enough   
Together we can take the world apart, my love_**

Her niece was turning out to be a greater challenge than she had first anticipated. Even untrained, she was a difficult adversary. To contain such power and not know how to wield it would be a very dangerous thing indeed, but for her to learn how to control it would be down right fatal. For this task she would require assistance. The only problem was she wasn't sure who she could go to. She had only known of two demons who could have helped her with her task, and her first choice of the two turned her down. The second of them, the one she would rather not go to, was a dastardly bastard. Darest she think, he was almost as devious as she? Surely not, but he was very close to her league. The only issue would be the battle of wills. She knew from he would want complete dominance, but that was something she could not allow. No man, human or demon, would dominate her. All she had to do was manipulate him, bend her to her will, but she knew that would be no easy task. A smirk formed on her lips.

_**People like us**_

**_Know how to survive   
There's no point in living   
If you can't feel the life_**

She had been hiding out in this castle for long enough. After a fortnight of playing concubine for this particular lord, she decided it was time to leave. First, however, she needed a destination. She knew not where her next target lie. She would have to hunt down this Naraku character and see if she could strike up a deal with him.

**_We know when to kiss   
And we know when to kill   
If we can't have it all   
Then nobody will_**

The smirk widened into a smile as her body burst into flames. The room around her caught fire and soon the entire castle was engulfed in flames. The breeze caught the ashes as the fire died, as quickly as it started, and carried them away. Her laughter floated on the breeze, nothing more than a whisper of devious plots and death.

**_The world is not enough_**

_X_

_Well here's chapter 8. I have the rest of this part of the series planned, and I'm working on parts 3 and 4. it'll be a while yet before I reach those parts though, because I still have to write most of this part. As far as how long this little segment if projected to be, I'd say between 20 and 25 chapters, so we still have a ways to go. Anyways, it might be a while before I get more out, but in the mean time, read, enjoy, and review if you feel the need. Until next time! _


	9. Changes

**Chapter 9: Changes **

She had been gone a month and in that time the disease had taken hold of him. The progress was painfully slow, causing only minor symptoms that could be passed off as fatigue, but as the disease progressed there was no denying he was sick. He was terribly ill, something that became painfully obvious to the child who resided with him. He had been training her, teaching her the basics of combat when she first noticed that there was something terribly wrong with him.

They had been practicing the hunt, helping to sharpen and hone Rin's senses when she realized that her protector swayed on his feet. He completely lacked the grace that was normally associated with his confident stride. Sweat beaded on his forehead and occasionally he would shiver, as if cold. The child, sensing something was wrong, but knowing he would not admit to it decided to spare him the indignity of professing his illness, his weakness, however temporary, aloud.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" she tentatively asked. When she received the usual grunt in reply, she posed her question. "May we go back now? I'm tired," she claimed, only half lying while adding in a fake yawn for good measure. He had nodded in reply, forming his youki cloud around his feet. The child joined him upon it and they headed back towards their home. They had barely made it inside the rather large domicile when he had stumbled and collapsed.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" the child called, trying to no avail to rouse him. Fear gripped her heart when he didn't respond to her cries. Tears formed in her eyes before she angrily wiped them away. With a set resolve the child dragged his heavy form to his room where she clumsily deposited him upon his futon.

Something terrible was ailing him, something that was beyond the young child's comprehension. The disease was horrible, taking on a different form, with different symptoms with each of its victims. It was a disease born from inhaling the ashes of a phoenix. The phoenix's method of departure from a difficult situation served another purpose. It was an attack known as Phoenix Dust. The phoenix would spontaneously combust, burning themselves until there was nothing left but ash. The wind would carry the ash, allowing the phoenix to go virtually anywhere they so wished. The ash inhaled by the assailant is a deadly thing. Nine out of ten died, and those who did not underwent changes.

But that was where the myths came into play. It is said that those who survive the entire course of the disease become a beast of hell that feeds off of death and ash; the dragon is born. Other's say that the victim takes on some of the characteristics of that particular Phoenix, that they are chosen to become something more. Nothing is proven however. Others still say that is how the legendary Phoenix ensures that their species lives on, because they only produce one offspring once every century. They say that at the end of a two-month period the afflicted burst into flame and be reborn from the ashes as Phoenixes. But, once again, no one can say for certain.

**_I'm not supposed to be scared of anything, but I don't know where I am  
I wish that I could move but I'm exhausted and nobody understands (how I feel)_**

The illness is different for each person. For this particular inu, the disease started slowly. He first experienced blurred vision and dizzy spells. For a fortnight this lasted, progressively getting worse. Days rolled by and it eventually turned into something that he could not completely ignore, but it was also not something that he could easily deal with. He could not go to a healer and risk having his weakened state be projected to all of his enemies, so he remained silent. Early into the second fortnight he collapsed. His vision failed him and he was plagued with high fevers and hallucinations.

**_I'm trying hard to breathe now but there's no air in my lungs  
There's no one here to talk to and the pain inside is making me numb_**

Through all of his fever induced illusions, there was only one constant. A great Phoenix always greeted him wherever he went. Then it would leave him, as quickly as it had come, taking with it a sense of comfort that he had never felt before. It left him feeling exposed, which was not something he was familiar with. The darkness would return to him, enshrouding him, blanketing him before it would once again be dispelled. Escorted on a ray of light, Kagome would come to him. He knew not why she of all people would be there, in his dreams, but it was comforting to know someone was with him. Not that he would ever admit to that one aloud.

**_I try to hold this_**

**_Under control  
They can't help me_**

**_'Cause no one knows_**

X

She had been training for the passed month, having found the sensei that her mother had set her out to find. In that time, a sick feeling had settled in her gut that she could not shake. As the days progressed, the feeling grew worse, grew more intense. It was almost as if there was a leaden weight that was being lowered into her stomach that caused it to churn and roil in discontent. Something was terribly wrong back at the fortress where she had left her sister. Each night she dreamed of him, and each night those dreams became more vivid, more real.

Images of Rin sitting next to his futon, crying flashed through her mind's eye. The energy ball she held between her two hands flared dangerously and shot out of her grasp as her concentration wavered. The pink ball narrowly missed her slightly concerned instructor and hit a tree behind him, exploding on contact. Things were getting increasing worse as these visions not only visited her in her sleep, but had begun to haunt her in her waking hours as well. Things were only growing worse for the young demoness. She opened her eyes to look at her sensei with pleading eyes as tears began to gather. He stood there for several moments before he nodded slowly in understanding. Faster than lightening, she was gone. She had no time to waste she needed to get back to them.

X

**_Now I'm going through changes, changes  
God, I feel so frustrated lately  
When I get suffocated, save me  
Now I'm going through changes, changes_**

Here in this fever induced coma, he was much more vulnerable than during his waking hours. Here his mental barriers weren't as strong, allowing some emotion to peek through the cracked shell. In his dreamland he was a child again, chasing insects through a wide field, laughing and playing. He could even see his mother again, though her features were slightly blurred from the years of separation. It had been so long since he had last seen his mother. It had been so long since she had died.

In the waking world, he was a different story. Despite this fact, there was a child who loved him dearly. The child sat on a cushion next to his bed, watching diligently as he tossed and turned. A steady torrent of silent tears coursed down her cheeks as she watched her hero suffer this illness. She had tried in vain to heal him in the first stages to heal him, but nothing worked. She pushed herself to the limits of her currently limited experience, failing to reach the vast wellspring of her power to heal him. It just wasn't enough. This illness opened a new reality to the poor child, a reality she was not yet ready to face. Her Great Sesshoumaru was not indestructible, he was not undefeatable, he wasn't as perfect as her child's mind had made him out to be. In her ignorance and naiveté, she failed to realize that he was as real as herself or her sister, and the realization was heartbreaking for the child.

She had been sitting there for days, a silence taking hold of her that no one could understand. With that silence came a sense of peace, almost as if she knew help was coming. She only moved to do necessary things, like eat and bathe, she slept by his side, ever constant in her vigil. She was so accustomed to the silence she was scared half out of her wits when a noise intruded upon her sweet serenity that was only broken by the tossing of her Great Lord. For a moment, she cowered in fear, hearing a voice in the antechamber of the domicile. Slowly the voice floated to her in gentle waves upon the still air and recognition came to her. Her eyes sparked with joy and relief as she jumped to her feet, racing to the sliding door and slamming it open. She was just about to shout the name of her beloved sister, when another voice stopped her cold.

**_I'm feeling weak and weary walking through this world alone  
Everything you say, every word of it, cuts me to the bone (and I bleed)_**

"Rin… how many times have I told you… not to slam my doors?" his soft voice rasped from the corner of the room, sounding harsh from disuse. The young phoenix turned back around, a joyous light entering her eyes, as she stared into a pair of lucid golden eyes. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she squealed in pure joy as she ran back to his bedside, attaching herself to his side in a fierce hug.

He sat there for a moment, unsure as to what to do. Finally coming to a decision as to his course of action, he brought his hand up and gently stroked her hair in acknowledgement. She pulled away, her smile bright enough to light the entire room coming to a close rivalry with the sun. The child's attention was quickly diverted when the sweet voice that awakened him from his slumber rang out once more. It was then he realized something about himself was different, but he could not quite place it.

Brushing it off as nothing, he nodded to his ward. "Go get her," he said softly.

Like a shot the child was gone. The patter of small feet rang through the halls and reached the Lord's ears. A few moments later there was a muffled "oomph" followed by the thud of a considerable weight hitting the wood floor. Sesshoumaru grimaced slight to himself, feeling sympathy for the girl on the receiving end of that tackle. Very slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position. It was then he realized what was wrong, or rather off.

He used two arms to push himself up.

He sat there in a confused shock, his breath having left him in a sharp gasp, uncharacteristic for him. Slowly, almost, darest I say, fearfully, he lifted the offending arm within his line of sight and examined it. The arm was his down to the stripes that should be there and the poison that infused his claws. He heard a soft gasp and looked up from his new arm. Rin was sitting cheerfully on her cushion once more and in the door way stood a slightly disheveled, wide-eyed-with-shock Kagome.

"Rin," he said softly, so softly that his words were almost missed even with both girls' advanced hearing. He was looking intently down at his hand now, a look of awe flashing through his eyes as he moved his arm and flexed his fingers, creating a fist. "What is the meaning of this?"

**_I've got something to say, but now I've got no where to turn  
It feels like I've been buried underneath all the weight of the world_**

The girl looked at him for a moment, her expression crumbling as tears filled her eyes. "I-I tried to h-heal you," she sniffled, trying to stave off the impending tears, "just after you got sick, but that w-was all I c-c-could do." Tears were no streaming down her cheeks despite her best efforts, as her lower lip trembled slightly. "I thought you were going to die! You wouldn't wake up," she sobbed. "I tried and tried, but you wouldn't wake up."

"Rin?" Kagome asked. "Was it you? Were you the one who called me?"

Rin turned her tear-streaked face towards her sister, sniffling quietly as she wiped furiously at her face, trying to stem the flow of tears. "M-mommy told me to," she sniffled. "She said you would know…" her sentence was cut off before she could finish by a hiccough and a sob as the flow of tears intensified.

Sesshoumaru shot Kagome a meaningful glare, before he turned his gaze back towards the child of his heart. Kagome nodded once, knowing he would see the signal of acknowledgement and eased out of the room. Quietly, in an almost ghost like fashion she wandered the halls of the deserted mansion.

Eventually, she found her way out of the mansion and found her way to the gardens. She wandered the vast planes of terrestrial beauty until she came to a large cherry tree. There she sat herself and began to meditate. Her eyes slid closed, looking for all the world like she fell asleep leaning against the trunk of the tree, but beneath the still waters of her cool exterior, the interior was a raging storm. She sat there for hours before her eyes suddenly snapped open. Her ethereal eyes glowed for a moment before she raced back to the lord's room.

She slowed to a walk once she reached the hallway in which the lord's room resided. When she reached the door, she did not hesitate to open it and enter. Once inside, she was shocked to find Rin cuddled up against Sesshoumaru's side, her small arms hugging him around his middle like some kind of teddy bear. Kagome, finding the entire scene to be completely absurd, she could barely contain a giggle at the adorable sight.

His eyes snapped to the door as it opened, his gaze narrowed and his body tensed, ready to defend his precious child from any threat with his life. His gaze settled on her form, and he visibly relaxed. He looked back down at the child while he continued to absently run his fingers through her shiny black locks.

**_I try to hold this_**

**_Under control  
They can't help me_**

**_'Cause no one knows_**

"If I die," he began softly, a pain lacing his voice that could only be attained by a child that knew their time was nearing, but feared leaving their beloved child behind. "If I die, you will be in charge of her," he said, regret began to lace in with the other uncharacteristic emotions, regret and guilt. It had taken him so long to realize just how much he cared for the child. It had taken him so long to realize just how much she meant to him. He lifted his gaze so it was level with hers, so her was looking her in the eyes. "Should that happen," he continued, "if you do not protect her with your life, I will rise from my very grave to kill you… slowly," he growled out, the steel edge to his voice causing her to shudder slightly for all the wrong reasons.

"I," she began haughtily, "unlike others in this room, love my younger sibling. If she comes to any harm, it will be -over- -my- -dead- -body-!" she hissed before she angrily stalked out, completely forgetting what she had come to say.

Sesshoumaru smirked to himself as he watched her storm out of his room. It was so easy to get under her skin. It was good to know that his little Rin would be taken care of, though. Gently, he shifted Rin so that he could lay back down. Once comfortable, his eyelids began to feel heavy, and he could feel the heat that radiated off of his body. Ever so slowly, his eyes slid shut and he feel once more into his fever induced dreams.

X

A fortnight had passed since Kagome had arrived making the duration of Sesshoumaru's illness a month and a half. Anxiously the girls watched and waited, desperately hoping for some kind of improvement whilst they tried to make him as comfortable as possible. None was forth coming, if anything the situation deteriorated. As time wore on and his condition worsened, the girls became depressed, knowing that there was nothing they could really do for him.

He would spend days at a time swimming in the endless sea of nothingness and dreams of his fever induced coma. Occasionally, he would awaken and demand this or that, but those times were few and far between. Those few moments did little to comfort them.

**_Now I'm going through changes, changes  
God, I feel so frustrated lately_**

One particular morning, he awoke to find Kagome asleep leaning against the wall next to his bed; a damp rag lay in her limp grip and an empty bowl that once contained water sat next to her. He lay there for several moments, content to simply watch her. After several moments, she twitched in her sleep and her brows furrowed. Sesshoumaru grew tired of laying down and sat up, propping himself up against the wall as he continued his study of the phenomenon next to him. She began to mumble incoherently even for his heightened hearing, as she lowered herself to the ground in her sleep. A single tear fell, followed by another and she curled in upon herself.

Not liking where this was going, Sesshoumaru decided it would be a good idea to wake her up. Mentally grumbling to himself about weak females, he reached out to touch her shoulder. When that produced no results, he gently shook her, trying to gain her attention before she began to full out sob. All his efforts were for naught, when she merely hugged herself tighter and began to cry harder.

"Woman," he growled this time, punctuating a rougher shake with a growl, as he began to panic. Before he could retract his hand, her small taloned hands shot out and grasped his larger clawed one between her two and pulled it to her in a death grip. With his hand in her possession clutching it to her chest, she calmed back down into a peaceful slumber. The girl sighed, a peaceful smile on her face. Sesshoumaru tried to remove his hand, but found she only tightened her relentless grip. He tried again and again with the same results. He sighed, exasperated, and silently grumbled to himself about his inability to release himself. This illness had made him weak.

He heard the soft patter of small feet on the wooden boards of the floor and renewed his efforts to free his incarcerated hand only to meet the same results. The door slid open and he stilled his efforts, halfheartedly glaring at the current bane of his existence. Rin walked in the room seconds later, carefully balancing a tray in her grasp. Her brow was furrowed in deep concentration as she tried desperately not to spill the contents of the tray and failing miserably as the liquid in the rather large bowl sloshed over the edge. Finally she reached the low table that rested nearest his bedside and carefully placed the tray upon it. Once that task was accomplished, she looked up, her eyed lighting up in pure joy as she caught sight of her mentor awake once more.

"You're awake!" she squealed, quickly latching her arms around his neck in a jubilant hug. He sat there for several moments, anchored down by one girl, and pinned by the other. After a moment's hesitation, Sesshoumaru brought his free hand up and gently patted Rin's back.

"Awe, that's so sweet," a rather sleepy voice mumbled as bleary eyes watched their satisfied sister detach herself. Sesshoumaru spared no time in rounding a frigid glare on the half-asleep woman.

"Release me," he grumbled, an underlying growl marking his words with indignation.

"What?" she asked thoroughly puzzled in her muddled state of mind. He nodded towards his imprisoned hand and after a moment's confusion she looked down. A crimson blush blossomed when she found his hand held securely within her own, nestled comfortably between her pert breasts. She hastily released his hand, as if burned, and sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. "S-sorry," she stammered.

He merely grunted in reply as he slowly, almost painfully pushed himself up, rising to his feet. He wavered for a moment, unsteady on legs that had not supported weight for the better part of two months.

_**When I get suffocated, save me  
Now I'm going through changes, changes**_

When the girls moved to help him, she shot them both a scathing glare. "Stay here," he growled, there were just some things he needed to do that the girls should not be present during. Proudly he stalked out of the room, his head held high, true to his breed. He would receive no help from a woman or a girl in this matter.

His pride would be his undoing.

X

Both girls looked each other in the eye for a moment, a silent message being communicated between them. The younger of the two hissed slightly in protest to whatever it was the older one wanted and tried to make for the door. Her sibling held her back for a moment, a gentle yet firm hand on her shoulder, and shook her head. Reluctant understanding came to the younger one and she nodded once. They would give him a few moments before they would follow.

X

**_I'm blind and shakin'  
Bound and breaking  
I hope I make it through all these changes_**

He had made it half way to the lake that rested near his home before his brisk pace took its toll. His movements caused the remnants of the poison to spread more quickly through his veins, causing him to become clumsy, tripping over his own two feet and everything else. His pace slowed as he was struck by a bout of dizziness. He was barely staggering now, moving from tree to tree, using the firm trunks as support. Eventually he was forced to stop, he swayed on his feet causing him to lean heavily against the tree by which he stopped. Spots began to cloud his vision before it was completely overrun. He tried to take another step, hell bent on reaching his destination, staggering and falling. His breathing became erratic as he made contact with the cool dirt of the path he had taken. Sightless eyes fruitless searched for a threat of any kind and he desperately tried to listen for footsteps, but failed to hear much over the beating of his heart. But even that eventually began to fade until he could hear nothing. The only thing left to him was his sense of smell.

**_Now I'm going through changes, changes  
God, I feel so frustrated lately_**

**_When I get suffocated, save me  
Now I'm falling apart, now I feel it_**

He scented the air, but only found familiar scents. This calmed him a bit, but didn't server to stem the flow of panic that had engulfed him. Even that small sense of comfort, however, was rent from him when he realized that his sense of smell was fading with the slowing beats of his heart. Eventually both functions ceased and a small gasp of breath left his body, then there was nothing.

**_Now I'm going through changes, changes  
God, I feel so frustrated lately  
When I get suffocated, I hate this  
Now I'm going through changes, changes_**

X

The girls had waited five minutes before they crept out into the hall and eventually out of the fortress. They had been walking for several minutes when a noise from afar reached their ears. Both paused and looked at each other for but a moment before they bolted, calling upon their unnatural speed to aide them in reaching him faster.

When they reached him, his eyes were dull and sightless. He didn't so much as react to their arrival. They listened intently to find that his heart was failing. Both girls looked on in disbelief and horror knowing there was no way to save him. They were not able to react, stuck to the ground in their grief until his heart had stopped pumping altogether.

"No!" Rin cried, launching herself at his prone form, but before she could reach him his body burst into flames, quickly turning to dust. She stopped in her tracks and dropped to her knees. Tears welled in her eyes, and the eyes of her sister as they watched a light breeze pick up the pile of ash and carry it away, scattering it on the four winds.

X

_Wow guys, this took me forever to type up. I can't believe I finally finished it. I am so sorry it's taken me so long. Actually you guys should thank me because I forsook getting three papers that have been due for the past ever for finishing this flippin thing. Seriously, but I needed the break from school. sighs I'm so far behind. But that's my problem, YOUR problem will be to read and review. I want some feedback here people!_

_Much love for all of my readers, especially those who review._

_Ruby_


	10. We Are

**Chapter 10: We Are **

'He's dead. He left us. Why did he leave us?' was the singular train of thought that had been running through the girl's minds a week after his death. Right after Sesshoumaru's ashes had been spread on the winds, a storm that they hadn't even noticed brewing let loose on the countryside. Kagome had had to physically drag Rin, kicking and screaming back to the palace, having to go as far as restraining the hysterical child from running back out into the hellish storm. It lasted for two days, and with the break in the storm came the visions that haunted Kagome in her dreams.

_**See the devil on the doorstep now (my oh my)  
Telling everybody oh just how to live their lives**_

Having not had a proper meal or sleep in several days due to their grief, both young phoenixes looked like death incarnate. Their faces were pallid, their eyes dull, and they were beginning to look thin. Kagome fought endlessly with Rin, trying to get anything passed her lips, but nothing save water ever stayed down. Try as she might, Kagome was also having the same problem. If they stayed there much longer, they would surely die from starvation or from some random demon looking for a meal.

As the days went by her dreams had strengthened, become more vivid, more real. Each night she would see him, she would be reminded of her promise to him and she would remember that she not only promised him, but she also promised her mother that she would take care of her sister. Her resolve grew and strengthened to get them out of there. They had to leave. That set in her mind she curled up on the seventh night after Sesshoumaru's death and resolved that they would leave on the morn of the eighth day.

_**Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)**_

X

Most nights when she dreamed of him, they spent a great deal talking, sharing past experiences, remembering times now lost to them. Sometimes it seemed like he was trying to tell her something important, something that needed to be said, but it seemed like he couldn't, like something was holding him back. Other times, they would fight. They would engage in a heated battle of wills and strength that ignited a fire in her blood and a passion in her breast that left her wanting to beg for more when it was over. On the seventh night, they sat under a weeping willow near a lake in the sweet planes of dreams. There they reminisced of a time when Kagome had had to fight to get the brothers to talk civilly, to get them to work out their differences.

X

_**What about the world today  
What about the place that we call home**_

"Sit down and stay down!" Kagome shouted followed by curses and death threats. But despite their protests and struggles the rosaries wrapped around their necks like snakes held them fast. Both glared and growled viciously at the modern miko. "Now, now, boys," she began in a deceptively sweet tone. "You will both stay right here until you've worked out your differences, is that understood?"

"But I'm hungry!" Inuyasha whined, forgoing the threats for a sympathy release.

"Deal with it," Kagome growled in an uncharacteristically harsh tone before turning her back on them and stalking off. The brothers watched her retreating form, hypnotized by the sway of her hips and the swing of her hair, until she disappeared completely from sight. At that moment the brothers shot identical glares at each other and growled, "this is your fault," before looking away from each other.

X

"He never told me that!" Kagome giggled.

"That's because he never truly admitted defeat," Sesshoumaru said with a faint grin, his fangs peaking out from under his upper lip.

"I never did find out what exactly cause that rift between you two," Kagome sighed.

"That, my dear, is a story for another time," Sesshoumaru replied.

"You're not leaving me, are you?" Kagome asked, beginning to feel a slight tug of panic.

"It's time for you to wake up," he whispered softly. "Take care of Rin for me."

Kagome sighed as his image began to ripple in that odd way that characterized the crossing of lines from the dream world and reality.

"I wish you had been more like this when you were alive," Kagome sighed just as his image began to fade along with the dreamscape around them. She missed the slightly pained look upon his face as she continued. "Maybe if you had, I could have lo-…" here she paused and shook her head slightly before sighing softly to herself, "who am I kidding?" Then she woke up.

X

_**We've never been so many  
And we've never been so alone**_

"Rin, Rin," Kagome called as she tried to wake up the young girl that morning.

"What?" the child despondently moaned as she awoke.

"Come on, baby, we're leaving."

"No!" Rin cried vehemently, wrapping herself around the pillow that was in her grasp.

"Rin," Kagome began gently, "it's not good for us to linger here."

"I won't leave!" the child cried, flames dancing in her eyes with her ire.

"We'll die if we stay here, Rin!" Kagome cried passionately. "Do you think he would want us to die because of him?"

"No," the child said, a pout forming on her cute face.

"Then we need to leave," Kagome said, stressing the fact. In response, Rin sniffled and looked up at her sister with large, sad, brown eyes.

"Where will we go?" she innocently asked.

"I know!" Kagome exclaimed after a rather lengthy silence. "We'll go to my home! You can meet my adopted family!" she cheered, forgetting a few very important facts.

X

_**You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
**_

As they slowly climbed out of the old well, Kagome tensed, sensing something was off. Eerie red and orange lights danced on the walls seeping in through the cracks in the boards of the building that surrounded the dried well.

"Rin," Kagome said softly, making sure her voice was only loud enough for someone with demonic hearing to be able to hear her. Without a word of protest, the child obeyed, the seriousness of the situation conveyed to her by the rare solemn tone that her sister took. Not only was the tone her sister used enough to scare the child, but also her demeanor. The older phoenix's eyes shifted back and forth as she dropped into an instinctive fighting stance. Danger was somewhere close by.

_**You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are**_

Slowly, Kagome crept forward, as she listened for any sounds out of the ordinary. Oddly, she could hear nothing. Hesitantly, she looked back at the well, her eyes hardened as she came to a decision. She turned back to the door, a pink barrier forming around the well.

Silently, she slid the door open and crept into the shadows outside the well house where she was hit by a cacophony of noises. All around her, an entity similar in appearance to a flame danced and ate away at anything its acidic body touched. The main house of she shrine looked like it was about to collapse. Intently she watched and listened until she noticed a bit of movement to her left that was most definitely not acid.

She rushed to it to find her little brother crouched over the dieing form of her adoptive mother. At the firebird's approach, the woman lolled her head to the side to look her daughter in the eye.

"I told you never to come back here," she croaked. "I knew this would… happen."

"What are you talking about, mom?"

"You need to go back, before they get you," she breathed. "And, please, please take Souta with you," she begged with her last breath.

_**You wash your hands and come out clean  
Fail to recognize the enemies within**_

"Mom!" both cried, tears streaming down their cheeks. Their moment of grief, however, was short lived as a more urgent matter came at hand. Both were startled out of their misery when a high-pitched screech was heard behind them. Both turned in time to see a blurred white figure move in the path of whatever it was that was after their blood.

Silver hair swayed with the remaining inertia, and Kagome gawked in pure, unadulterated shock. Slowly he turned to face them, piercing golden eyes boring into blue before he whispered one word that sent out of her shock and into motion. "Go." And then they were gone, back down the well.

_**You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are, we are, we are**_

_X_

_Hope you liked chapter 10. kinda short, not really sure if the song fits, but it was the best I could come up with. You should know the drill by now, so do your thing! _


	11. I Shall Believe

**Chapter 11: I Shall Believe**

She sat on the other side of the well, clinging desperately to the children and vise versa. The only things keeping her from hyperventilating and complete hysteria were the children. they were the sole remaining link to her sanity. She had to stay calm for the childrens' sakes. After taking several moments to calm herself, she forced the disturbing imagery from her mind and gently pushed the children from her so she could stand. She needed to bring some cheer to them, before they all died. Forcing a bright, plastic looking smile to her face, but the children wouldn't know any better.

_**Not everything is gonna be the way  
You think it ought to be**_

"Rin," she said gently. "This is our brother, Souta. Souta, this is our sister, Rin." Both children shyly studied each other unsure of what to think of the other when Kagome continued. "Rin," she said sternly, "you have to be careful with Souta," here she cast an apologetic glance at her baby brother for wounding his pride. "You could hurt him without meaning to, ok?" The girl nodded sagely. Souta, however, objected with a vengence, his pride wounded at having his sister tell a _–girl-_ to be careful with him. "Sorry, baby bro, but there is something you should know," she said, then filling the youth in on a few important facts.

After Kagome finished her tale, Souta stared at her wide eyed, momentarily forgetting the trauma of the day as he erupted in a gale of exclamations, "That's so cool," being one of the main ones he could coherently utter.

Kagome smiled gently at her brother, her outward appearance for all intents and purposes that of quiet serenity. Underneath she was screaming. With a tenacity that scared her, she held a firm grip upon her calm and held it there. She had to be strong for the children, but who would be strong for her?

_**It seems like every time I try to make it right  
It all comes down on me**_

When Souta had finally calmed down, Kagome had decided that they would go to the village, if only for the night. Slowly they trudged down the path, the children running eagerly ahead of her as she tried desperately to block the images of the last time she had gone down this path. Desperately she fought the tears until she finally had them beat when she reached the old woman's hut. There she found two rather ominous looking shadows that loomed on the front porch.

The shorter of the two stepped away from the taller, bringing a familiar person into sight, though Kagome was still partially blinded from the sun. "Kagome!" the now identifiable female cried, running towards the phoenix.

_**Please say honestly you won't give up on me  
And I shall believe**_

"Sango!" Kagome cried rushing to meet her friend halfway, tears from the stress of the past few months finally catching up with her.

X

_**Open the door**_

_**And show me your face tonight**_

As soon as they reached the hut after greeting her friends she lay down upon an extra futon and slept as soon as her eyes closed. It was much needed, much deserved rest. As soon as her eyes closed, a dreamscape appeared around her. She looked around, desperately searching for something that only she could see. When her eyes lighted on a flash of white, she cried out in relief and ran towards it.

_**I know it's true  
No one heals me like you  
And you hold the key**_

When she reached him, she did not slow as she launched herself into his arms, wrapping him a fierce hug as she began to sob. The momentum of her tackle sent them rolling down the hill that he was standing atop of, but she didn't care, neither did he. He was confused by her reaction to him, but chose not to comment on it as they rolled to a stop. He wound up straddling her waist as she clung desperately to him, still crying.

Unsure of what to do, he settled himself down next to her and tried to comfort her in some way. Running gentle fingers through her hair, he whispered gentle reassurances to her. Sighing softly, content to be holding her despite the fact that she was crying so he wished he could hold her forever.

_**Never again  
would I turn away from you  
I'm so heavy tonight**_

Eventually she calmed, still holding her only source of comfort. He was her rock, he was her anchor; he was her protector and her love, though she would not know that for some time. Sighing in contentment at the feel of his arms around her, she was loathe for this to end, but she could already feel the tugging of reality, puling insistently at her consciousness, demanding its return. When she could feel the tug of reality become strong and her dream world fade, she lifted her face to his, gently kissing him before he faded away.

_**But your love is alright  
And I do believe**_

_X_

_WOW, I'm on a roll. Three chapters in one week. I'm impressed with myself. do your thingy and I might be able to squeeze in one more before the week is out!! _


	12. Living Dead Girl

**Chapter 12: Living Dead Girl **

_**Who is that irresistible creature **_

_**who has an insatiable love for the dead?**_

An eerie wind blew forth from the east, ripping through the clearing as the tendrils of the soft gray fog wrapped sensuously around the sole tree that stood there and wound amongst the blades of grass. Amongst the forked branches of the ancient tree lay the figure of a woman. For all intents and purposes, she looked dead to the world. A serene look graced her pale features as she lie there, her hair an onyx cloud of death and despair. Serpent like creatures glided through the air around her, dropping the glowing orbs of souls upon her healing body of clay.

_**Living dead girl**_

She had been stuck here for who knows how long, regenerating her broken body. The outward calm, however, belied her true feelings. Inside she was angrily prowling about the recesses of her mind, patiently waiting for the time to be released from her catatonic state. Just a bit more, just a few more souls and she would be freed.

_**Rage in the cage  
And piss upon the stage  
There's only one sure way  
To bring the giant down**_

She desperately needed to get back to her master and regroup. Her reincarnation was much stronger than originally anticipated. And it would seem that Naraku and herself were not the only ones to have underestimated the miko bitch. There was another who sought her, who craved her blood. This bit of information would prove to be valuable.

_**Defunct the strings  
Of cemetary things  
With one flat foot  
On the devil's wing**_

Clouds rolled over head and thunder clapped loudly in the skies, the lightening the preceded it dancing across the canvas of grays and black. A single fat raindrop fell, hitting the sleeping priestess on the face as yet another soul hit her body. Her eyes snapped open in that instant and an evil smile formed upon her lips as lightening lit the backdrop of the darkened forest. She looked to the skies, upturning her porcelain face to the roaring storm above. The lightening colored her skin a vivid red for a moment, revealing the blood of the innocents that she killed and foretold the many more she would kill the gain what she wanted. With a silent command to her soul stealers they gathered around her and lifted her to the skies.

_**Blood on her skin  
Dripping with sin  
Do it again  
Living dead girl**_

She knew exactly where to find Naraku.

**X**

_anther short one, but it's the best I could get out. I hope you likey._


	13. Echo

**Chapter 13: Echo **

Twilight was well upon them when they decided to head back to the hut. The sky was alight in vibrant hues at the horizon while further out stretching towards the opposite horizon and everything below was cast in shadow. The gray tones made everything look ashen, as if the entire forest had burned, and all that remained were the ashes left undisturbed for not even the wind dared move it. The shadows cast by the setting sun made it difficult to walk, but they were used to it.

The day had been spent under the god tree where the group, after learning of the nature of their hanyou friend's demise, came to terms with everything and mourned. And in their mourning for their long lost friend, they reminisced, laughing and crying about good times and bad. It was with heavy, yet relieved, hearts that they decided to return to the old woman's hut. The trip back to the hut had been a silent one, each in their own thoughts. Kagome, however, seemed to be on a completely different planet, often tripping over roots and rocks that she should have missed had she been completely aware of her surroundings.

By the time they reached the hut, Kagome was once again on the verge of tears, her friends could only assume it had been the events leading up to Inuyasha's death. They had no clue there was so much more to it. They had no clue she was being visited by his brother in her dreams. As they were about to enter, Kagome having been in the lead, she whipped around, mumbling something incoherent to her friends before she sped off into the night. With her demonic speed she reached the God Tree in seconds and with a grace unknown to her, she lept to its highest branches, comfortably nestling herself there. She could understand why _he _was always in trees. It was very liberating. But that was not why she was there. Actually, she didn't even really have a reason to be there. In her confusion and extreme guilt she had found her way here, to this accursed tree. She felt so very guilty. She couldn't understand why she felt so at peace with Inuyasha's death but was so torn up over his brother's. The guilt over that was tearing her apart. She felt as though she was betraying one of her best friends.

She sighed softly as a forlorn wind caressed and beat her cheeks, cooling the hot tears to the point where they felt like ice on her wet cheeks. This went unnoticed to her however, because she was too caught up in her musings to notice. An unconscious shiver ran through her body and she nestled closer to the tree. With an almost desperate tenacity she clung to the tree, shivering and crying, but taking note of none of it, her lost, clouded eyes staring straight ahead of her. There were many things she did not know at this point, could not figure out, but the one thing she did know was that she didn't want to go back to the hut and her friends. They would pity her and try to console her when all she wanted right now was solitude.

For hours she sat there, staring at everything around her and yet seeing nothing. When she was finally pulled from her thoughts, she realized that the moon had almost reached its zenith and her teeth were chattering. She began to nod off after that, but still she remained in the beloved tree. She refused to move from her perch. Several more moments passed and her eyes slid shut, her breath steadied; she was asleep at last.

X

_**I think about your face  
And how I fall into your eyes  
The outline that I trace  
Around the one that I call mine  
**_

She shivered slightly, feeling the cool breeze brush against her body running its sensuous fingers through her hair. Gently the tendrils moved from the crown of her head, smoothing her hair and slowly making its way to her face, caressing her cheeks in a loving touch. She sighed softly, almost contently. A familiar presence made itself known behind her. Startlingly warm, strong arms wrapped around her small frame. She, however, did not move, rather she melted into the embrace sighing happily at the contrasting warmth.

"I've been waiting for you," a sweet smooth voice whispered in her ear, the person's hot breath tickling her neck and ear pleasantly.

"I know," she whispered back softly, almost sullenly as some of the contented pleasure drained from her posture.

_**Time that called for space  
Unclear where you drew the line  
I don't need to solve this case  
And I don't need to look behind**_

"You sound troubled," he whispered back. "What's wrong?"

Sighing, Kagome gently, reluctantly pried herself from the man's almost loving embrace. "It's difficult, you wouldn't understand."

"Then explain it to me," he gently prodded, trying to goad her into tell him her woes.

"What if I don't want to?" she exclaimed. "What if I can't?" Violently she whipped around as she uttered this last question, begging him with her eyes to understand, to let the subject lie. Tears welled in her eyes and as they fell down her cheeks they burst into flame, snuffing out when they hit the ground below her feet. "What if I don't want this to end?" she screamed. "What if I l-" here she halted in her tirade as if struck. Realization dawned in her blazing blue eyes, as she looked upon Sesshoumaru in a new light. Slowly, a trembling hand went to her throat as she began to back away from him. "When did that happen?" she whispered softly to herself, but no answer was forth coming from herself and the perplexed demon lord.

_**Close my eyes  
Let the whole thing pass me by**_

He watched her, arching his eyebrow in confusion. This woman truly intrigued him.Over time, while their souls had bonded in this dream realm he had come to care for her. The respect he had had for her in the living world had grown to like, and eventually a platonic love, but could it be that he saw her as more than just a friend? Slowly he shook his head, trying to clean it of such ridiculous thoughts as he reached out to her, to his friend.

"Kagome, tell me what is wrong," he whispered as he began advancing towards her retreating form.

"NO!" she cried, violently shaking her head and backing away at a faster pace as tears streamed down her cheeks. "There's no way! This is just a dream! You're not real!... Why? Why you? Why me?"

_**There is no time  
To waste asking why**_

Though he did not outwardly show it, her confusion and fear, her incoherent words and even her tears cut him. It deeply hurt him to see her in such a state. This was something he didn't understand, but he just knew that it did.

"You're dead!" she cried trying to will his image away, trying desperately to rationalize the love she felt for him away. "And even if you weren't, you're a heartless bastard! None of this is or ever will be real!"

_**Before this echo can subside  
Do I expect to change  
The past I hold inside  
With all the words I say  
Repeating over in my mind  
**_

Her last statement cut him more deeply than any of the aforementioned. She hated him, this he could now see and it was unbearable. He felt a deep sorrow building deep within his breast as his heart was shattered as the Shikon Jewel. His defrosted heart bled as it slowly began to freeze over once more. She hurt him deeply, so he reacted the only way he knew how.

Her head snapped to the side and she slowly rose a hand to touch the forming bruise on her cheek. Her eyes teared with the stinging pain of the wound and she stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. Neither could believe that he had struck her, but the rapidly forming bruise was proof enough.

_**Some things you can't erase  
No matter how hard you try  
An exit to escape  
Is all there is left to find**_

Slowly he backed away, his eyes wide in an uncharacteristic display of shocked disbelief. He watched as the tears formed and overflowed from their prision. Eventually he backed into a tree and he stayed there even after she turned and ran, fading from the mists of the dream world.

X

She jerked awake with a sharp gasp, her hand flying to her cheek. She could feel the heat emanating from the bruise that she knew was here. In that moment, her precious balance was lost and she went tumbling headlong to the ground below. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact when a blast of power stopped her in mid descent. She felt a loving warmth surround her and she realized that she had instinctually manifested her powers. "No Sesshoumaru to catch me this time," she grumbled. "I have got to get a better handle on these powers of mine," she thought to herself as she slowly finished her descent to the ground. "Where did all that training go?"

X

After he was so rudely ejected from Kagome's dream, Sesshoumaru sullenly made his way back to the nether world. There he was greeted by an irate woman with crimson hair and flamed wings. He enraged glare was enough to set him on edge as she stiffly turned and led him back to his current dwelling. Hell hath no furth like a woman's scorn... this was going to be a very strenuous training session, he knew.

X

_OH MY GOD GUYS! I AM SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE! It's been a rather eventful passed few weeks. My computer died shortly after my last update and I was living off my sister's computer, which meant i could only use it for homework. So i just got a new computer and .. yea. This is my first opportunity to update._

_AND A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY FAITHFUL READERS AND REVIEWERS. I LOVE YA LOTS._


	14. Poem to a Horse

**Chapter 14: Poem to a Horse **

For the next several nights, Kagome would anxiously await sleep, eager and yet apprehensive of seeing Sesshoumaru again. She felt she had to apologize to him. Even though he was the one that struck her, she felt that she had somehow provoked him.She felt that maybe if she hadn't said what she had that he would not have. She felt it was her fault. And yet for these next several nights, he was not there. Those few days turned to weeks and still there was no sign of him. Just when she was about to give up all hope of ever seeing him again he reappeared.

_**You're too far to bring you across  
Too high to see below  
Just hanging on your daily dose  
And you never needed anyone  
But they're rolling papers for your grass  
How can you give what you don't have?**_

It wasn't until over a month later that he appeared to her again, and somehow she thought to herself that he looked tired almost, but she merely shrugged it off as nothing more than her imagination. However, she did notice and was sure that something was most definately off with him. Something was different with him. Something had changed between them. Something was wrong. He was no longer the warm, expressive man that she had come to know in this dream world. He had become the cold, emotionally constipated demon that Kagome knew him as in his life. This greatly confused and hurt Kagome.

_**You keep on aiming for the top  
And quit before you sweat a drop  
Feed your empty brain with your hydroponic pot  
You start out playing with yourself  
You get more fun within your shell  
Nice to meet you but I gotta go my way  
**_

At each attempt at conversation, she was shot down. Pain lanced through her heart at this and tears threatened to gather, but she valiantly founght them off. This wasn't the demon she knew and loved. It was like his heart had shut down again, leaving behind the cold, calculating statue of marble and ice that he was before.

"Sesshoumaru, will you please talk to me" she exclaimed, finally having had enough of his silence as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. As if in slow motion the tears rolled from her eyes, down her porclean cheeks to the ground below her, where they sizzled and scorched the earth like acid. At that, he slowly, almost mechanically turned his head in her direction. He regarded her for a moment before he returned his gaze to the dreamscape before them. The tears came faster as she stared at his profile for a moment before she angrily turned her back on him. She took several deep breaths before she began to walk away.

_**I leave again  
Cuz I've been waiting in vain  
But you're so in love with yourself  
If I say my heart is sore**_

_**Sounds like a cheap metaphor  
So I won't repeat it no more  
**_

As she stalked away, Sesshoumaru slowly turned to watch her retreating form, a great pain showing in his gleaming eyes. After she had become nothing but a spec on the horizon of her dream, he whispered two words that his pride would never allow him to say to her face. He never expected them to reach her ears. Since there was nothing there, no other sounds they did reach her as a breath of wind"I'm sorry." However, she promptly disregarded them as her imagination. Whishful thinking. The dream slowly faded and she was finally gone from his sight. She was out of reach.

X

Kagome awoke with silent tears of acid streaming down her face, and eating away at the floor boards beneath her. She looked around the small hut to see that everyone was still asleep. The fire was out. A cool breeze trickled in through the flimsy door covering, beckoning to her. Quietly, almost as if she were in a trance, she rose and made her way out into the late night.

She sighed softly as the breeze lovingly caressed her face, cooling her tears and her sorrow. Gently it swirled around her body, enveloping her in a blanket of serenity. Silently she prayed for answers to her questions, but she knew none would be forth coming. What had caused him to pull a complete 180 like that? Was it something she had done or said? What had happened? She just couldn't figure it out. She could meditate on it for hours, poke and prod him for hours on end, or search the deep recesses of his mind, but she would never get the answers unless he gave them to her. She was so confused.

She reached the God Tree and deftly jumped to one of its' highest branches. There, nestled in the arms of the great tree, she watched the sun rise. There she stayed until her little brother and sister came looking for her. She went with them to eat breakfast and then spent the rest of her time with her friends. The day passed uneventfully, and night was soon upon them once more. With the night came the resolution that she would get some answers out of Sesshoumaru. One way or another she would figure it out, and it wasn't going to be pretty, this much she knew.

X

_Well, what did you think?... hope you liked it.**  
**_


	15. Take Me Under

_Happy flipping Valentines Day... aka. Satan's Day... i hate V-day so i figured i'd skip school and write ya'll a chapter. hope you likey._

**Chapter 15: Take Me Under **

She woke up once more in tears. This was quickly becoming a trend for her. Each morning she would wake up in tears, and with a heavy heart. And each morning, her friends would cast her worried glances and on more than one occasion, Sango offered a listening ear. But Kagome would turn her down and offer a weak smile for her worried friends and siblings.This was something she had to resolve on her own, but her silence was killing her. So was the overwhelming guilt. She was far from ok.

_**Now it seems im fading  
All my dreams are not worth saving  
I've done my share of waiting  
And I've still got nowhere left to go  
**_

She ate little to nothing, only occasionally picking at a bowl of rice or some meat to appease the chilren. She slept even less than she ate, only sleeping for a few minutes ata time, dreading what she would encounter. She didn't want to face him, and yet she missed him. Each time she would fall asleep for more than a moment she would wake up in tears. Try as she might she couldn't sleep and didn't really want to. For weeks this dragged on until Sango and Miroku, having had enough of watching their friend wither away, placed Kagome under a powerful sleeping spell, praying this would work.

X

Kagome was sitting in the top branches of the God Tree, one of her favorite passtimes, when she began to feel extremely tired, more so than she already was. At first, she tried to fight it, but soon found that in her weakened state from lack of sleep and nourishment, she couldn't defeat it. She had left her guard down and now she was paying for it. However, she didn't panic because the power in the spell that was enveloping her was a familiar one. Finally completely giving up, she closed her eyes and allowed the spell to take hold. Just before sleep completely took her, a single name left her lips in a shuddering whisper that was filled with longing, dread, and hope.

**_So I wait for you to  
Take me all the way_**

"... Sesshoumaru."

X

As her consciousness was lost, she was thrust into an unfamiliar dreamscape. As she became aware of her surroundings she shivered slightly at the barren, cold feel it held. Something was missing in this place, but she couldn't quite place it. It was not a thing or a scent, but rather a presence was missing. Curiously Kagome began to explore, but she found that there was nothing remarkable work noting. It was as if everything was just there, there was no life or sparkle to anything. Everything was drull and gray. Another shiver crept up her spine as fear began to take hold of her. There was no one there, nothing there. The atmosphere of this place was beginning to affect her and it was then, when her panic began to rise that she realized that it wasn't just missing from the dream, but from herself. It felt like another part of her soul had been taken, and this part couldn't be taken or given back.

**_Seems you're wanting me to stay  
But my dreams would surely waste away  
I still have no where to go  
So I wait..._**

"Sesshoumaru" she called as she went into a blind panic, fearing the worst and knowing it to be true. She was alone, completely and utterly alone and he was the only one she wanted with her at that moment. In her panic she began to tear through the dreamscape, looking for the missing piece of her soul. The one piece she truly needed to be complete. When no answer was forth coming, it only served to fuel her panic and she called for him again and again, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't find him, though she knew no matter how hard she tried she wouldn't. He wasn't there. "Come back" she whispered, her voice choked from her tears. Still there was no answer.

With a despondent sob, she dropped to the ground at the base of a sakura tree. There she curled around herself and sobbed until no more tears would come. It was then when she reached an almost eerie calm that she noticed the presence that enveloped her. It was then that she noticed the warmth that surrounded her, the firm chest on which her head rest and the strong arms that were wrapped around her. She had found the other piece of her soul. She sighed softly as sweet bliss weaved its way around her. That was quickly followed, however, by an insurmountable anger. She quickly quashed it before it became an uncontrollable beast, locking it away for a moment, not wanting to ruin the moment.

_**Push me under  
Pull me further  
Take me all the way  
Take me all the way  
**_

Snuggling deeper into his embrace, she sighed once more and prayed that this would last for a while longer. She felt him shift slightly and looked up at him from her position on his lap. He was staring straight ahead at some unknown point on the horizon, his eyes glazed over with thought. On impulse she brought her face level with his, and gently placed her lips upon his in a chaste kiss. His eyes widened marginally as he was brought from his musings by the sweet kiss. Slowly, almost languidly he returned the sweet kiss with one of his own. Eagerly she returned that kiss as the passion between them grew.

_**Now it seems you're leaving  
But we've only just begun  
and you've still got nowhere left to go**_

Just as abruptly as it began it ended and he was on his feet and walking away. She remained upon the ground, below the sakura tree, watching his retreating back with dry eyes that burned with the want to shed tears that would no longer come. It was then she noticed that when he had come he had brought color and life to this barren wasteland. Now with his retreat, they fled with him. Sighing softly to herself, she closed her eyes and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She wished for nothing more than to wake up in that moment. She wanted out of this hell. She wanted to fall out of love with him. If only it were that easy.****

So I wait for you to  
Take me all the way

X

_Once again happy Satan's Day (V-day incase you didn't read the first note)... i hate this day. . anywho, here's your chapter, i hope you enjoy it and i hope to get lots more reviews from my faithful readers... I LOVE YOU ALL!_


	16. Vermillion

_A/N: OH MY FUCIING GOD GUYS I AM SO SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG! I am so so so so so sorry, words cannot express. there have been problems abound here at home and it's just taken me forever to deal with them. i swear this has been the most FUBAR couple of months in my life. now they are for the most part fixed and I'm back. hopefully i will also find my errant muse once again as she seems to have run off on me. Here's the next chapter that i found inspiration for while in my English class. I hope you enjoy and once again i'm so sorry for making you wait for so long. _

_Hope_

_To all who have been abandoned and have lost all hope in life,_

_To those who have given up on life and have lost all faith in happiness,_

_Know that even those who have lost all hope will find happiness,_

_When the time is right for them and the fates steer it their way._

_Iris Colon_

_a.k.a. Ruby Raze_

**Chapter 16: Vermillion **

Her kiss had surprised him. His reaction scared him. Both of which were things that he was not used to feeling, so he reacted the only way he knew how. He found it funny how he used to scoff at his brother for not being able to tell the wench how he felt about her when he himself could not do so either. He could not even admit to himself how he felt for her... he just knew it was something more than he was used to or wanted to feel. He was a great lord, he had mortal enemies who were not bound by honor. IF he were to take her as his mate, she would become a target, as would her siblings. It was not a risk he wanted to take.

_**/She seems dressed in all the rings... of past fatalities**_

_**So fragile, yet so devious-- she continues to see/**_

As he continued to walk the forests of his dreamscape, he became more and more immersed in his thoughts. He had been shocked to find her in his own black and white dreamland, even more so when she didn't sense his presence until he was holding her. But what scared him was when he came out of his musings, he found a land that was completely different from the norm. At some point while he was holding her he realized that his grayscale dreamland wasn't so grayscale anymore. Vibrant colors flooded the wooded area like he had never before seen.

_**/Climatic hands that press her temples and my chest**_

_**Enter the night that she came home... forever**_

_**Oh…/**_

Quickly shaking those thoughts from his head, he disregarded the fact that she seemed to be the only one able to bring any kind of color to his world. the only problem is that when she shook those particular thoughts from her head, his pride reared it's ugly head to close in for the attack. It snickered and howled it's laughter at him for fleeing from a simple woman, not once, but twice.

_**/She is everything and more, the solemn hypnotic**_

_**My Dahlia, bathed in possession**_

_**She is home to me/**_

He had fled. it was as simple as that. Even now, with him in the underworld, this girl haunted him. Even in death he was fleeing from her, though now there was no escaping her. She haunted his every moment. She was like a disease to him, or better yet a drug that he wanted to quit but couldn't get enough of. She was the one he overdosed on.

_**/I get nervous, perverse when I see her it's worse**_

_**But the stress is astounding**_

_**It's now or never, she's coming home... Forever/**_

He knew it wasn't fair to blame her for his death or his current predicament, but his vindictive side dictated that it was indeed her fault because it was blood kin of hers that sealed his fate. Yes, for his irrationally vindictive side laying the blame on her was justified, but the rest of him was not in accord with that rather large piece of him. Deep down he knew there was nothing she could have done, she was still too young and new to her powers. Somehow he knew this was meant to be.

_**/Oh... she's the only one that makes me sad**_

_**Hard to say what caught my attention**_

_**Fixed and crazy.. aphid attraction**_

_**Carve my name in my face, to recognize/**_

With that his thoughts shifted to an entirely different and yet very similar phoenix. He had been training with her in the void in which he now resided for he could only guess how long. However, it wasn't his training that his thoughts turned to, rather the woman herself and the things she'd told him. Those things shocked and scared him, he didn't know what to think. The things that were destined to happen, the things Kagome would have to do; the sacrifices she would have to make; and the changes within him scared him. Though he was loathe to admit it, the future that lie ahead of himself and those he cared for seemed rather bleak, but what must be done, must be done.

_**/Such a pheromone cult to terrorize**_

_**I won't let this build up inside of me...**_

_**I'm a slave and I am a master**_

_**No restraints and unchecked collectors/**_

Those thoughts only served to bring his mind back to the young phoenix that he just left. Only this time, his aura flared red with his anger. Even in his non-corporeal form, his inu howled possessively at him to protect what was his. He knew she was not trained and ill prepared to face what lay ahead of her. These thoughts only spurred him into a deeper rage and also an overwhelming sadness for her and what she must face and do.

_**/I exist through my need-- to self oblige**_

_**She is something in me, that I despise**_

_**I won't let this build up inside of me...**_

_**She isn't real-- I can't make her real/**_

X

So lost was he, that when his sensei arrived he was startled out of his reverie. His aura flared a livid red before he jumped to the attack, his soul quickly forming a more solid form for him to fight against her in. His attacks were hard and vicious, he was using everything he had ever been taught as a child and more. His sensei glowed with pride as she dodged his attacks. He was getting much better. His anger fueled him to push himself harder and harder. She knew that if he kept up at this pace it would only be a matter of time before she could release him upon the world once more.

After a good six hours of fighting, she finally tired of his now sloppy moves and rage induced snarls. With a well placed blow to the back of his head he was out. Looking down at him, she beamed with pride. He would be the perfect mate for her daughter and for that she was immensely glad. She had trained him herself, so she knew he would be more than capable to protect her daughter. She wouldn't have it any other way.

X

Hours later, Sesshoumaru began to stir. With a slight groan, he awoke. His head was pounding and his body felt like lead. Gingerly he pushed himself up. From somewhere behind him he heard a faint giggle, and growled.

"What, pray tell, is so amusing, Kyouki?"

**X**

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	17. I Hate Myself for Losing You

**Chapter 17: I Hate Myself for Losing You**

She tried waking up, but there was something blocking her. A familiar power was holding her in her sleep. A soft sigh escaped her as she realized that she had been neglecting her siblings and worrying her friends. She tried to push herself out of the sleep spell that her friends had placed upon her, but found that she still did no possess the strength to break it. Allowing herself to be gently pushed back into dreams, she sighed once more as she felt the lack of a certain presence in her dream world.

Instead of materializing in a forest, or in her time, this time she materialized on the beach. Looking around, she lost herself in momentary, child-like glee. Running to the water, she delicately dipped her foot in the encroaching waves, squealing in delight when she found the water temperature to her liking. Snapping her fingers, her normal attire morphed into a string bikini and she quickly jumped into the water. After swimming around for a while, she decided that she had swum to her heart's content. Slowly walking out of the water, she walked until she was far enough away from the waves and collapsed on the coarse sand. She lay there for several moments before a shadow loomed over her, blocking the warm, loving rays of the sun from reaching her cool body.

Opening her eyes, she didn't know when she had shut them, she gasped when she saw a familiar figure dressed in modern swimming trunks. A whispered name escaped her before she sat up and turned away from him. She remained that way for several moments before she turned back. It was then she realized something. This wasn't the same Sesshoumaru that had been visiting her before. Something about his presence was off, she couldn't sense his aura like she could in other dreams.

This Sesshoumaru was merely a figment of her imagination whereas the other one had been real.

This epiphany shocked Kagome as she slowly stood to inspect her dream Sesshoumaru. Physically they were nearly identical, with a few exceptions. For example, this Sesshoumaru had a ring of red around the pupil of his eyes and the stripes that adorned his cheeks and wrists were accompanied by gold ones that lay just beneath the scarlet ones that have always been there. Though his presence was off, she could still feel that there was something more about this Sesshoumaru than she could sense.

Shruging it off as nothing more than her imagination, she also noticed that this Sesshoumaru had a softer look about his face. His eyes were not as unreadable as was the norm for him, and the tense line of his mouth was more relaxed, making him look more gentle. A sad sigh escaped her lips and a single tear rolled down her cheek as a thought struck her.

She would have loved to see him like that while he was alive, relaxed, but he wasn't. He was dead and it was because of her. Two more tears escaped her as she reached a shaky hand out and gently placed it upon his warm cheek. His eyes closed as his image flickered and slowly faded. A sob escaped her as he faded, her hand left embracing nothing but air.

_**/I woke up today  
Woke up wide awake  
In an empty bed  
Staring at an empty room  
I have myself to blame/**_

The spell was fading with each moment, she could feel it. Either that or her power was returning. She really didn't care either way, this was her chance to escape. The images of the two Sesshoumaru's were haunting her, both of them standing before her before they melded into one. Then all of the colors melted from their respective places and began to swirl together in a whirlpool of confusing colors that slowly blended to make a pitch black.

With a sharp cry, Kagome jolted out of her sleep, falling from the comforting branches of the goshinboku. Sango and Miroku, who had been lounging at the base of the tree, both looked up in time to see the graceless pheonix falling through the branches of the tree and move. With a thud, Kagome landed on her feet in a crouching position, her wings spread wide while she steadied herself with her left hand.

Slowly, she rose, pushing her shaggy bangs out of her eyes to glare her friends in the eye. Nervously they looked at each other before turning to look back at Kagome. They all stood there for a moment staring at eachother before Kagome quickly turned away from them, walking away. Silent tears were streaming down her face. They had died because of her, Sesshoumaru had died because of her. If she stayed, they would die again.

With each step she took away from them, a little bit of her heart died, but this was something that she had to do. It was several hours of walking before she noticed the presence keeping silent vigil by her side. Stopping, she turned to her little sister, before sobbing and falling into her. Her arms wrapped around the small girl's frame as she shook with the force of her emotions.

"It's all my fault," was the only coherent thing Rin could get out of Kagome for a very long time.

_**  
/For the state I'm in today  
And now dying  
Doesn't seem so cruel  
And oh, I don't know what to say  
And I don't know anyway  
Anymore/**_

"Rin knows not why you cry sister, but Rin knows it's not your fault."

"But it is my fault, Rin! It is! If I had been stronger and faster, he would still be with us. He would still be here with me. I loved him damnit! I still do, and I never got the chance to tell him!"

"Everything happens for a reason, May- Kagome. Rin is sure we will meet him again, either in this life or the next."

"I hope you're right, Rin."

_****_

/I hate myself for losing you  
I'm seeing it all so clear  
I hate myself for losing you/

Clouds had gathered without them knowing. Large ominous black monstrocities lay looming over their unsuspecting heads. A loud peel of thunder sounded as the first tears of the dark skies fell, causing the girls to jump in surprise. Both of them looked up at the sky as the rain began to fall. Large fat drops hit the earth one after the other, coming in a fast torrent that only served to place a further damper on their moods.

After staring at the steel gray clouds for a moment, both girls scrambled to their feet. And began to run, looking for shelter. The already quickly forming puddles splashed under their feet, as their were soaked to their skin. Finally they reached the spring that had the waterfall with the hidden cave that Kagome had been chased to by Inuyasha so long ago. Quickly Rin ran to the shelter of the hidden cave, while Kagome stopped and looked at her distorted reflection in the rippling waters of the spring.

_**  
/What do you do when you look in the mirror  
And staring at you is why he's not here/**_

She stayed staring at her reflection for several moments, an eternity almost to her tormented soul. Unbidden tears gathered and overflowed to mingle with the tears of the weeping earth. She stayed like that until she was startled out of her thoughts by here little sister, who had poked her head out of the cave through the water. Looking up with dead eyes, she motioned for her sister to go back inside the cave. When she did so, Kagome slowly lowered herself upon an outcropping rock that over looked the water of the spring and stayed like that, studying her reflection in the water.

Though it was distorted from the pattering drops of rain hitting the once smooth surface of the spring, she could still see her reflection. It was something she had come to hate. She could no longer stand to look at herself, to face the reason for the death of so many that she held dear. True, she had revived Sango and Miroku, but they had still died because of her no less. And then there were the others, Shippou, Kirara, Inuyasha and lastly Sesshoumaru, who she couldn't save. Their blood lingered on her hands, just as if she had killed them with her own claws. She had a power greater than theirs and yet it was all for naught. She could not save them.

Lightning streaked across the sky, striking the water just in front of her, striking her distorted reflection. Steam rose from the electrified water and the rain slowed to a light drizzle and then stopped. Before her lay her complete and unobstructed reflection and what she saw she hated. So many deaths lay upon her shoulders, first for breaking the Shikon no Tama and then for not being strong enough to kill her foe. So much blood had been washed over her hands, that she had lost count of who she had killed directly and who she did not. Either way, the blame for so many deaths lay upon her solely. However, what shamed her more than the fact that she had so much blood upon her hands, was the fact that none of it mattered saved the blood of one. **_  
_**

_**  
/It's killing me  
Inside, and  
Now I dread each day  
Knowing that I can't be saved/**_

More and more of her heart wilted and died with her thoughts. She had no way to stop them as they pushed her on the downward spiral to oblivion. For hours she had been sitting there, staring out at nothing now. Her reflection had long since dimmed and faded with the coming of the night. Slowly her eyelids began to droop and fall closed and her body began to lean forward. So lost was she that she did not realize that she was falling asleep until she had pitched headlong into the cool waters of the spring and was rudely shocked away by the intrusion of water in her unsuspecting nose. Quickly gathering her wits, she propelled herself up, out of the water and landed on the bank of the spring, coughing and sputtering for air.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she realized that she could have just ended it all right there and then. Fear struck her with those thoughts, fear and confusion. When had she become so lost that she would contemplate leaving her sister alone in the world? When had she buried herself so deeply in her dispair that she would end her life? This wasn't like her at all. She was stronger than that... wasn't she?

Growling under her breath, something that she had picked up from a couple of inu youkai, she entered the cave in which her sister resided and found her asleep. With a sigh, she curled up upon the cold stone floor and fell asleep quickly. Ghosts of the past and present haunted her dreams that night, causing her to toss and turn, crying out for the one person who had not visited her in her dreams.

_**  
/From the loneliness  
Of living without you  
And, oh  
I don't know what to do  
Not sure that I'll pull through  
I wish you knew/**_

Morning came swiftly upon the duo rousing the younger of the two out of a light troubled sleep to the sound of her older sister shrieking in agony. Rushing to her side, she began shaking her, trying to rouse her from whatever nightmare tormented her sister. Kagome's hands reached up to clutch her head, her claws digging slightly into her scalp, causing little red streams to flow down the sides of her head.

Desperately, Rin tried to restrain her sister before she seriously injured herself. Just as her tiny clawed hands reached out to grab her sister's hands, a wave of black energy, knocking the poor girl into a wall of the cave.

"Get out!" Kagome screamed as she shot up straight, her eyes opening to reveal pitch black orbs. She sat there for several moments afterwards as her eyes slowly returned to normal, panting from the exertion of pushing whatever had been in her head out. Frantically, Kagome looked around, searching for some unknown beast that haunted her alone.

With a sharp gasp she noticed her little sister's crumbled form lieing in the corner of the cave. Rushing to her side, she noticed her labored breathing and the blue veins that were making themselves apparent just below the surface of her near transparent skin. Tears gathered in her eyes as she began shaking Rin, trying to wake her up.

"Rin! Rin! Please wake up! Please don't leave me!" she cried as she shook her sister with more fervor. After a few more moments of this abuse, the young phoenix slowly opened pure pale yellow eyes for her sister to see she was indeed alive. The glow in her eyes quickly spread from there to her sallow skin, healing everything in its path. After several moments, the glow receded and the girl slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

"Damn, Mayoke, that hurt," Rin murmured just before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she dropped.

"Sesshoumaru left you with Jaken too much, little sister," Kagome sighed as she gently gathered up her sister and began to long trek back to the village with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company.

_**/I hate myself for losing you  
I'm seeing it all so clear  
I hate myself for losing you  
What do you do when you look in the mirror  
And staring at you is why he's not here/**_

****"Sesshoumaru," she whispered, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

_****_

/What do you say when everything's said?  
Is the reason why he left you in the end?  
How do you cry when every tear you shed  
Won't ever bring him back again?  
I hate myself for loving you/  



	18. The Nameless, Eyes Like Yours

_I just found out that a certain someone had put me on the recomended fanfics list and I just wanted to say THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU! Also I'd like to say I'm so sorry I've been slacking on keeping up w/ my chapters consistently. Hearing about this though, by accident b/c one of my fellow authors that I am a big fan of had been searching for my fic but didn't remember the title, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and inspires me to write just for you. _

_so Jasmine Fields I would just like to say that this chapter is dedicated to you. and also, Thank you._

_Ruby_

**Chapter 18: The Nameless, Eyes Like Yours **

**_/Pathetic (benign)  
Accept it (undermined)  
Your opinion (your justification)  
Happy (State)  
Servant (hate)  
Malice (heart of weakness)_**/

"You love him. you want him. Go to him, join him in death. Free yourself of the pain. Don't worry about the others," indistinct voices whispered in her mind, she knew not their source but they were there. Clutching her head in her hands, she tried to block out the words, tried to block out the voices but nothing was seeming to work. These taunting voices had been whispering in her ear for hours, taunting, tormenting her with their messages. "He died because of you," a distinctly female voice whispered to her. "He wants you with him in Hell," another, a male this time, piped up. "Go to him, join him," they all whispered in unison. They had been at this for hours slowly wearing down her resolve and working their way into the deeper parts of her mind. Indistinct images flashed before her eyes, hallucinations, causing her to begin to question her sanity. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't detect a foreign presence. Nothing else was there in this little world but herself.

_**/No toleration  
Invade (kill me)  
Enraged (in minutes)  
Don't condescend (don't even disagree) /**_

Something had happened to her when she had returned with her little sister. A shock had run through her, causing her to double over in pain, almost as if she had been struck in the stomach. Then everything had gone blank. She could vaguely hear the voices of her friends as she collapsed, but could not respond. She had no control over her body. She had been like this for only kami knows how long.

Valiantly she fought to maintain her hold on the slowly ripping strings of her sanity. What had once been a rope was slowly dwindling into what could only be called a thread. Tenaciously grasping on to that last thread of her sanity, she desperately searched for a way out of this mess.

Oh how she had a penchant for getting herself into messes. Her eyes dimly flashed pure white for a moment before they slowly faded and flooded with an inky black. Silver lightning flashed in her eyes before it was quickly quashed. With a cry she convulsed as her powers momentarily turned in upon herself. Whoever's power she was under knew what they were doing and had several centuries over her.

_**/Decide (decay)  
Disappoint (delay)  
You suffered then, now suffer under me./ **_

With a growl, she pushed harder, her magic surfacing only to be pushed back once more with equal if not more force. A scream was rent from her throat as her miasma attacked her blood. Her purification rose to the surface trying to counteract her miasma. Her powers were dependent on a complete balance between the light and dark within her. The scale had been tipped, however, and the two contradicting powers within her were attacking each other, eating away at her organs and flesh. The battle was being waged inside and outside of her body.

X

In reality, her friends watched on horrified as miasma began to leak from her pores and pure white flashes of her purification sparked to life slowly eating away at her flesh. Her body convulsed as an inaudible cry was rent from her throat. Souta and Rin had been sent outside, once Rin was healed, so they didn't have to worry about them seeing this horrific scene. However, their hopes were dashed when Rin came bursting through the mat that served as a door with a sharp cry.

"Mayoke!" she shrieked. Rushing to her sister's side, she paid no heed to her adopted brother or her sister's friends as her eyes took on a luminescent yellow sheen that slowly spread to the rest of her body and came to center upon her hands. Poising the small claw tipped appendages over her sister's body she focused with all of her might on healing her dieing sister.

X

Indistinct images and colors danced before her eyes as Kagome desperately fought for her life. She had an epiphany somewhere between the bouts of complete and utter anguish. There was only one being that could so easily break through her mental defenses and manage to stay unchecked. Rather there was only one that was living with that inherent ability. A roar escaped her as she pushed out more of her powers, trying to offset the effects of her magic.

"SATYR! You lowly bitch! Release me and fight me on even grounds!" she shrieked, as something she had never felt before pulsed from within her very soul. It was something foreign and indescribable. It left her feeling warm and secure. This was not a power of her own. This thought should have scared her and yet it didn't. If anything it only served to further comfort her.

A blinding light flashed before her inner eye and all else seemed to fade away leaving only an oddly familiar pair of eyes in her focus.

_**/Oh, you know I have seen  
A sky without sun  
A man with no nation  
Saints captive in chains  
A song with no name  
For lack of imagination/**_

Molten gold eyes with a ring of red around the pupil stared at her. Some indistinct emotion was swirling in their depths bringing out silver highlights that wouldn't be noticed otherwise. Slowly with the eyes, a face came into focus and a gasp escaped Kagome as her eyes traced over familiar scarlet stripes above well defined cheek bones and the navy blue crescent moon that resided upon his brow. This was no dream.**_/And I have seen  
Darker than ebony/_**

"Se- Sesshoumaru?" she hesitantly queried. "What… happened to you?" For the moment all thoughts of the danger that was currently looming over her and even the pain of her warring sides disappeared with his appearance. **_/You know it seems that I  
Without your eyes  
Could never be/  
_**

Joy poured through her soul as she was met by the man of her dreams. The pain of his silence was forgotten in her time of need as her soul rushed forward and lovingly wrapped itself around his own.

She looked up at him through her non-corporeal eyes and noticed something in his eyes that she never had before. She tried to decipher that emotion in vain while lost in his gaze as her eyes were slowly taken over by a combination of her purification and black magic. Her eyes became jet black with a lining of pure white and silver swirling in the middle as she pushed back her aunt with a power that had never been experienced before by the depraved woman.

X

With a shriek, Satyr was pushed back into her body. Pain overrode her system as a combination of her niece's purification and miasma coursed through her body. Agonized screams tore from her throat as she writhed upon the wooden floor. In some spots her skin bubbled as if it were being eaten away by acid, causing her to lose control of her powers momentarily.

**_/(don't go) i never wanted any body more, then i wanted you  
(i know) the only thing i ever really loved, was hurting you./_**

The ground beneath her began to tremble and roots tore through the floorboards of the castle she was currently in, writhing in rhythm of her agony. As the pain subsided into something a bit more bearable, she noticed the presence that was looming over her shoulder, and the immense displeasure that emanated from said presence.

_**/(don't go) i never wanted any body more then i wanted you  
(i know) the only thing i ever really loved, was hate./**_

A searing pain tore through her shoulder, only adding to the pain that ran rampant through her body. Another scream echoed through the empty halls of the castle. None were there to hear the tortured screams that echoed through the halls that soon turned to passionate moans as the monster that was highly sought after took advantage of the aged phoenix in her weakened state, though it's not to say that the little masochist inside of her didn't enjoy it either.

X

With a sharp cry, Rin pulled her powers back into herself as she felt that she was no longer needed. She looked down at her now seemingly unharmed sister, a happy smile gracing her features before her eyes rolled back into her head and her collapsed atop her sister.

X

_What do you think?_


	19. Ordinary

**Chapter 19: Ordinary **

It had been several weeks since the incident with Satyr, and both girls had healed and it had been decided that for the sake of their friends and sibling that they would leave the village. During their journey across Japan, they somehow made it back to the village in which Kagome had been training. Her sensei had been more than overjoyed at her return, greeting her and her sister with open arms. It was there that she and her sister learned the basics to harnessing and controlling as well as understanding their powers.

Kagome's powers were contradictory. She held the purity of a miko and could harness the purity of her soul to purify demons and yet she held dark powers as well. She held within her a miasma attack similar to that of Naraku's, however she learned that once she could control it, she could dictate who and what it destroyed by shielding whatever she wanted to be kept safe with her miko powers. She also learned how to contain and use her youkai nature at will, much like Sesshoumaru could, being able to call upon her true form whenever she should need it.

Rin's powers weren't anywhere near as sinister as her sister's, nor as powerful in the sense of destruction. Rather, Rin's powers lied in the art of healing. Not only could she heal wounds of varying severity, being able to bring someone back from the brink of death, but she could detect and heal any kind of disease known to man and youkai. The ability that she had so to speak other than her blood beast to protect herself was her ability to control the elements. She could call on any of the four elements at will to make an escape or protect herself.

Both of the girls learned a lot in their time with their sensei, however their time was cut short when they were attacked by a horde of demons led by their aunt months later. A malicious smirk graced her features as she led the attack, effectively dividing the three. Hours later after the fight was over, Kagome and Rin managed to make their way back to each other, battered and bruised, but all they could find of their master was a pile of ash. The rest of the village they had been living in was decimated, leaving nothing left of it. The corpses of the villagers were effectively torn apart, limbs strewn about the area. This was where the draw backs to Rin's powers became painfully obvious. She could not bring people back from the dead, only from the brink of death. After giving the dead a proper burial, the left the small village and never looked back.

The death of the village and their sensei was a heavy blow to the girls. It was then they decided that they would stay clear of all inhabitance, for it seemed that all they could bring to those around them was pain and death with the enemies they had made. Traveling for many weeks, the looked for somewhere that was far away from life of any kind, to make a home for themselves. They could not live a rootless existence, nor could they live with other people. They could not live with themselves if they brought more death upon innocents.

During their travels, they had at one point crossed a village in their human disguises, but it seemed that there was someone amongst them that recognized them for the youkai that they were. The males of the village had come after the girls brandishing makeshift weapons of all kinds. The last few months had been very stressful especially on Kagome since she had not heard from Sesshoumaru in a very long time. When the villagers attacked, Kagome lost her hard won control, decimating the villagers. It was only after she had reawakened, breathless and bloody, that she realized that she had done. With a sharp cry that bespoke her anguish, she dropped to her knees, sobbing wretchedly. She blacked out again, and it was days later that she was pulled out of the abyss of her despair by her sister, who assured her that all the lives had been saved. Kagome had attached herself to her sister then, sobbing brokenly for hours before she was able to compose herself.

It was a week after that incident, that the girls found themselves a place to build a home, high up in the mountains. There was a small clearing there, surrounded by a lush forest. Not far from where they had built their meager hut, there was conveniently a hot spring where the girls could bathe. They lived a quiet existence, almost peaceful for several more months.

As the time went by, Kagome had heard nothing from Sesshoumaru. The length of his absence stretched out more and more. Eventually Kagome began to lose hope of ever hearing from him again and once that hope was gone, his memory slowly began to deteriorate. Slowly as time wore on, it became almost difficult for her to even recall his name. It wasn't until one night, almost two years later that she was visited by him once more.

X

She had just fallen asleep, she knew it, and yet now here she was standing in the forest. There was something achingly familiar about this place and yet she couldn't place her finger on what exactly it was. Slowly turning around in a full circle, she remained aware of her surroundings as she searched for some form of a threat. Finding nothing, she sat there thinking for a moment before she decided to explore the area. Barely making it through the trees, she jumped when she felt leaves brushing against her sensitive wings. When did her human guise fall?

With a snap of her fingers, she tried to conceal her flamed wings and her demonic aura, but found that she could not. She tried again and again and began to panic when she found that she could not conceal her demonic heritage. She tried again and again and was about to fly into a full fledged panic when she heard tinkling laugher that she could only recognize as her mothers and a snort from a male that she could not distinguish.

"Mother!" she cried as the woman slowly made her way out of the foliage. "How did you get here? I thought you were dead!"

"You're dreaming, daughter," she replied with a soft chuckle. A momentary look of confusion crossed Kagome's face before recognition flashed. A beet red flush spread across her cheeks as she moved to embrace the older woman.

"What brings you here mother?"

"We have much we must discuss, daughter. You have been left alone with your sister for so long, you have forgotten your friends. They will need you soon."

"M-my... friends?"

"Yes, Mayoke. There is something on that mountain. It's stealing your most precious of memories. I fear if you stay there longer, you will be lost."

"I have felt nothing, mother."

"But I have. Even here in this realm, i can feel it. You and Rin need to leave. Take nothing with you, for all that resides on that mountain is now tainted. Leave and do not look back. Please do this for me."

"I will do this for you, mother."

"Good. Now i have someone to introduce to you," looking back into the shadows, she silently beckoned the figure hiding in the shadows to come forth. The man who stepped forth from the shadows elicited a gasp from the unsuspecting Kagome.

"Y-you, i know you. Where do i know you from?" she asked no one in particular, searching her mind for memories of the familiar figure but coming up with nothing. His silver hair and pale skin was familiar to her. She recognized the crescent moon upon his brow, but there was something different about it though she could not place it. It didn't look the way it was supposed to. Then she noticed the slight shimmer of a silver design overlapping the dark blue crescent. From her vantage point, no matter how hard she tried to distinguish it, she could not. Continuing her perusal, she found that he had scarlet lines across his cheek bones, his pale skin seemed to glow, but what stood out to her the most were his eyes. His eyes were bright, molten gold, and surrounding the black holes of his pupils was a ring of red.

She blushed slightly, when the object of her perusal raised his delicate silver eyebrow in her direct, indicating his awareness of her admiration. Something foreign and yet achingly familiar flooded her senses, however, she did not have time to analyze it as her mother's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "This, Kagome, is a friend of mine. I have been training him for months now..."

"He is dead?"

"No, not entirely."

"Then how is he with you?"

"A part of him died, Mayoke. His body died along with a part of his soul, that was replaced by something else. The two halves fought for dominance, but eventually blended. He is dead, but not."

"I don't understand."

"He is one of us, but not. He is like me."

"Like you? Mother, i don't understand. I thought you were born a phoenix."

"He shall be reborn, just as i was before him. He like myself is now only half inu youkai. You, Mayoke, are one quarter inu youkai, however you seemed to have inherited your father's true form. That is your primary spirit form, but should you need it, you can call on your other form."

"How do i call upon it?" she asked, disregarding the raised eyebrows of the male in her presence.

"You will know when the time comes..."

"What of Rin?"

"You will have to help her. Though she is like you, her form will be drastically different from yours, she will need your help."

"I understand mother."

With that, the form of Kyouki, faded from sight, leaving only Kagome and the familiar stranger before her. With the departure of her mother, Kagome turned, though it tore at her to turn her back on the beautiful stranger before her and she knew not why. Just as she was about to walk away, a silk smooth voice called out to her, causing her to stop.

"Wait," that one word from that man was enough to send a delightful trill down her spine. Slowly she turned to him, not knowing what possessed her. Then as if drawn to him magnets of opposing poles, she slowly, tentatively made her way to him.

"Who are you?" she asked before, she realized the words had left her mouth.

_**/Whose eyes am I behind  
I don't recognize anything that I see/**_

"This Sesshoumaru is disappointed in you, Kagome."

Those words sent a chill down the young woman's spine. "Th-that name. I know that name. Where do i know you from? How do i know you?"

Leaving Kagome's questions unanswered, Sesshoumaru stepped closer until they were mere inches apart. Kagome's heart began pounding in her chest and her breath hitched in her throat as his mere proximity did things to her that she couldn't begin to understand. She looked up into his unusual eyes and found herself drowning in a molten sea of gold. As he leaned closer, she released a breath she didn't know she was holding and closed her eyes with a gentle flutter of her coal black eyelashes.

At the feather soft caress of his lips upon hers, a jolt seared through Kagome's body. Liquid fire spread through her veins as something in her soul ignited and embraced her like a long lost lover. A wave of euphoria washed over her and blanketed her mind as she found the missing piece of her soul and her memories, both cherished and unpleasant returned to her in a rush. One memory surfaced after another, each only fleeting glimpses to times passed, until her mind came to a screeching halt on one set of images.

With that set firmly in mind, the euphoria that had enveloped her was swept away, leaving her feeling cold and hallow. What she had done gripped her for a second time and she pushed herself away from the man she had loved with everything she had and yet didn't realize it. Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed into his eyes, noting the confusion and hurt swimming in those twin suns belying his stoic mask.

Her attention was torn from his silently pleading golden eyes as she looked down at her hands. "So much blood," she whispered, almost to herself. She continued to stare hard at her hands as the scent of blood flooded her olfactory nerve and she realized that her hands were covered in the offensive liquid. Her knees and hands began to shake, causing her to drop to the ground. A tortured scream escaped her as tears welled and overflowed. "Why?" she screamed as she tried to rub the blood off of her hands in the grass. "It won't come off, it won't come off," she stated in a panicked whisper as she began to hyperventilate.

_**/Whose skin is this design  
I don't want this to be the way that you see me/**_

Sesshoumaru looked on at this all, confusion evident in his posture now. Her words made no sense. When she began to wipe her hands on the grass and hyperventilate, he came to a decision he didn't know he was hesitating to make. Swiftly moving to her, he knelt down and gently grasped her hands. "Stop this," he whispered. He was surprised when she looked up at him with tortured eyes, and tore her hands from his grasp.

"It won't come off," she whispered.

"What won't come off?" he asked gently, as if addressing a child who just woke from a nightmare, quietly coaxing with soft words and unconscious comforting gestures. He hadn't realized it, but after she had pulled from his grasp he had grabbed her and placed her in the security of his arms. He held to in his lap, close to his heart as he gently stroked her hair.

"The blood. It won't come off. There's so much of it. Why won't it come off? WHY WON'T IT COME OFF! I didn't mean to kill them! I DIDN'T! They just kept attacking... they wouldn't leave us alone. Why wouldn't they just leave us alone? Why did I lose control?" she ranted, seemingly forgetting she was being held, or that there was even anyone there.

"What happened, Kagome?" he gently prodded. He was trying his best to comfort her and make sense of what she was saying, but nothing was making much sense to him. He assumed they had been attacked and she lost control defending herself and her sister, but that would not warrant her completely broken state, bordering on insanity. The reaction he received to his question caught him completely off guard.

"NO!" she screamed, "get away from me!" With that, she pushed herself away from the confused inu with a blast of power. Once freed, she once again dropped to the ground, curling in upon herself and sobbed. "Don't look at me! I'm dirty, I'm a monster! I killed them all, I enjoyed it! I enjoyed it! They couldn't defend themselves against me and i enjoyed that. I'm a horrible person, a monster... Oh gods! The blood, it won't come off! Why won't it come off? There's so much of it..."

_**  
/I don't understand anything anymore  
In this world that I'm tired of/**_

Sesshoumaru stood there for several moments in shock. After the shock faded, he desperately wracked his brain on some way to stop her. She was now staring at her small clawed hands with a look of pure horror upon her face. Her eyes were glazed over, she was reliving it. He needed to find a way to distract her from this. Without thinking, he rushed to her side, and none too gently lifted her to her feet. When she did not acknowledge him, he lifted her face so she was gazing at him and roughly crushed her lips to his. He felt her stiffen for a moment before she relaxed. A smirk formed when he felt her arms slowly wind their way around him and hands tangled into his hair.

His plan worked only for a few moments before she pushed him away once more. Tears were streaming down her cheeks again as she looked at him with such pain filled eyes, it made him want to cry. He, however, being a character of such strong will was able to force the damnable things back. He didn't understand why she could invoke such feelings in him. If he was having difficulty controlling rampant emotions before, he found it doubly so with her next words.

"You don't want me. Please don't do this to me again. You're not real, you died. I saw you," she whispered, shaking her head to herself. "But... but she said... mom said... No! She's wrong!" she said, starting off in a low whisper and then ending in a yell. With a scream of profound rage, she turned her back to him.

_**  
/Is taking me right up these walls  
That I climb up /**_

"Kagome..."

"Stop! Don't say anything! I don't want to hear it, just please leave me alone!"

"Kagome," he said a little bit louder this time, a slight growl lacing his voice.

"No! Please don't do this to me! Don't say it! I love you damn it! I couldn't take it if I heard the words from you!"

"Kagome," he all but yelled. "Stop this!"

"NO! Don't say it!"

_**  
/To get to your story  
It's anything but ordinary/**_

With a growl, he was standing before her. She had no time to react, he was standing there, staring at her with those intense eyes. She found herself being sucked into the swirling vortex of his soul. A brilliant display of lights flashed before and around her as she was dazzled by the indecipherable secrets of his vast soul. There she learned everything and nothing about him. She could feel every emotion he felt, everything he felt for her in that moment. The feelings she felt emanating from him were profound.

She found herself gazing into his eyes for but a moment before she was pulled out of the comforting haze of colors that was replaced by a sea of black. This void was ineffable compared to the swirling colors she saw but a moment before. She had witnessed the pure part of his soul, the small portion that still lived on in the solitude of banishment; locked deep within his subconscious. The part of his soul that lay before her bare and exposed at this moment was pure black with large spots of gray and small specs of white. This was the part of him that all the world saw and revered him for. This was the cold, emotionless part that ruled his persona.

She had witnessed both extremes of the spectrum of his soul in but a matter of moments before she was pulled back to reality by one of his clawed hands, the tips of his fingers gently tracing their way down her cheek and lovingly gliding to her lips, lingering there. Something shone in his eyes as he gazed upon her, something she couldn't describe. ****

/And when the world is on its knees with me its fine  
And when I come to the rescue I get nothing but left behind/

She had faced down countless demons without fear. She had looked death in the eye more times than she wished to count without fear. And yet here she stood, facing the man she loved more than life itself. He was staring at her with something indescribable in his eyes and it scared her. It scared her and exhilarated her at the same time. Something shot through her veins that she could not describe. It coiled through her body like a snake, curling in and around itself before it finally settled in the pit of her stomach. There that snake injected the poison of doubt, letting its venom slowly eat away at her soul. It started out as a little drop, but eventually it would grow and fester, something had to be done to prove that unspoken love that she had yet to decipher in his eyes.

"What is it, in your eyes that captivates me so?" she whispered more to herself than him. "What is it that calls to my heart and makes my soul yearn for something i don't know? What spell have you woven with those eyes? There is something you want... don't interrupt me, i know there is. There is something you want from me... what is it? What is it that i possess that makes everyone flock to me, begging me for things that i cannot or will not give? Tell me. Tell me what it is, i want to know!"

Silence reigned as she finished her tirade. The silence fed the poison within her, fueled it like oxygen and wood fuel a fire. A tear came unbidden and slowly slipped its way down from her eyes, an angel fallen from the grace of its heavenly prison of blue.

/**_Everybody seems to be getting what they need with mine  
'Cause your what I need so very but I'm anything but ordinary/_**

That silence, however was shattered, not by words, but by a gesture so profound it nullified the poison that had been trying to take root in her moment of doubt. He had backed her into a wall she didn't know was there and placed both hands on either side of here, effectively trapping her. With an agonizingly slow pace he inched his way towards her until her was mere inches from her face. He hovered there for a moment, searching her eyes for something only he knew about. Seemingly finding a favorable answer to his unspoken question he closed the distance between the two of them. ****

/I think I'm trying to save the world from you  
You've been saving me too  
We could just stay in and save each other/

The kiss was agonizingly slow and tender, but through that kiss both poured all of their unspoken love. They found in each other a safe haven in which they could hide for as long as they needed. Slowly they could heal the wounds in each other's hearts and souls. They were soul mates in every sense of the words, just as they were complete opposites. They were an unlikely pair, one of light, the other of dark. Only one could save the other, for they were meant only for each other just as they were destined to do great things with the love they shared. ****

/I'm anything but ordinary  
(ordinary)  
I'm anything but ordinary  
(ordinary)/

X

Eight solid pages! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! I haven't written that much since the first part of Fallen… that was so long ago… almost a year now. Anyhow, I wrote this extra long chapter b/c I felt bad about the wait you guys have been putting up w/. JUST KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU AND TO KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING!

Ruby


	20. Burn

_hey guys, i'm posting the last three chapters for for whom the bell tolls before i start the third installment. I'm so sorry this has taken so long, but it's been next to impossible to get to a computer with internet access. right now i'm going to be using the computers at school so updates will be slow._

_much love, _

_RR_

**Chapter 20: Burn **

**"**Run," her body urged, "run." Breath coming out in shallow pants, she could hear her subconscious trying to tell her something, something important. Desperately she tried to get a grasp on what it was saying. "They're behind you, it screamed, they're getting closer. Don't let them catch you!"

Oxygen was becoming a commodity for her deprived lungs. She could feel them burning as they desperately tried to gather the oxygen necessary to maintain her body. Her legs burned and her back gave a twinge of pain. She had long ago ordered her little sister to climb onto her back, because she couldn't keep up with her superior speed. She could feel her knees trying to give out on her, but she willed them to continue holding her as she raced for their lives. The voices in her head kept urging and encouraging her to continue. She was so close to safety.

Run. The wind urged, whipping her hair and clothes about her body. Run. It seemed to be gently pushing her along as she made her way down the mountain. Run. it urged desperately. Run. In a near fatal mistake, she looked back. She turned back in time to see the tree she was about to run into and barely dodged, but it was enough for her to lose her footing on the steep slope of the mountain and tumble headlong down, down, down.

Get up. Get up! the earth urged her. Flee whilst you can. We have been prisoner to this beast for centuries, as we shall continue to be, but you must go. you must escape.

She could hear the invisible creature crashing through the trees, seeing some of them snap under the weight of the creature. It was quickly gaining and would be upon them in no time. Weakly she struggled to rise, but to no avail. Her back began to spasm and her legs ached and cramped from overuse. Her arms trembled, trying valiantly to hold her up, but they too eventually collapsed under the strain. Her sister stood beside her, trying to help her up, but her fledgling strength was not enough. She tried to use her powers to help her sister and found that something was blocking her, she couldn't remember how to do it.

With a deafening roar the creature was upon them. In vain Rin tried to protect them, her strength on par with that of a human child. With a deft swipe, the creature knocked the child away with a massive paw. She hit a nearby tree and slid to the ground. The contact was brief, but enough for the creature to materialize slightly at its' paw. Slowly red eyes also began to materialize, leaving only gleaming angry eyes and a large hairy paw visible.

With a sudden burst of strength Kagome leapt to her feet, her eyes blazing as she watched her sister slide to the ground. Her anger burned wild and slowly grew out of control. Flames that could only be from hell whipped around her, as she slowly began her transformation. Her face slowly began to elongate and her body began to contort as the flames enveloped her in an opaque shield.

The creature turned to her with indifferent eyes as it watched her transformation. It watched the swirling shield of flame with a look akin to curiosity. The flames tore at some invisible foe as it flared out and then imploded. As the flames were pulled back to their source, the creature let out an ear piercing howl as it reared back. The monster before it was like nothing it had ever seen or encountered. It began to tremble slightly before it regained control of itself and howled again in outrage.

She stood tall, her chin held high. She stood slightly shorter than Sesshoumaru in his true form, her gleaming black coat a perfect compliment to his pristine white. Her form was lithe and beautiful, being built for speed and agility but belying her strength. Her beautiful azure eyes, which in her human and phoenix forms are wide, are narrow, having an almost feline grace in their beauty. The crystal depths of her eyes glittered and shone with her fury.

As the smoke cleared from her vision, she looked out at the creature with a ferocity that could only be rivaled by one. In her towering inu form, she was truly a formidable foe, a force to be reckoned with. Her sharp gleaming white teeth were bared as she growled low at her adversary. Slowly, she began to circle around the beast in a wide perimeter, slowly bringing it in closer and closer. She had no clue what abilities this body possessed, but the need to protect her sister at all costs threw caution to the wind as she viciously attacked.

The creature was slow and unwieldy, giving her an advantage, however, being unsure and untrained in this form she was quickly tiring. She jumped back as the creature swiped at her with its half visible paw. She yelped in pain when the other, still invisible paw, tagged her in the side, leaving four red gashes that were leaking out blood in a steady stream. This creature also had excessive strength, the strength of a thousand souls on its side. She fell on her uninjured side, panting heavily as she struggled to get up.

_**I'll tell you now you can't win this**_

A livid glow began to envelope her body as she desperately tried to stand. Her irate crimson eyes carefully watched the glowing eyes of the creature as it circled round her. The blood flowing from her wounds began to turn to a stream of fire that curled up and around her body. Slowly, with a sudden surge of strength that filled her to her very core, a strength not her own, she rose to her feet, her massive paws finding their was under her and holding. For a brief moment, the fire around her flared and her eyes flashed sparkling golden and then in a burst of speed she was gone.

_**You're way too slow**_

"Use your senses," a voice urged in her ear. She came to a screeching halt, frozen in her tracks. Listening intently, she cocked her head to the side, not believing what her ears had just told her. When she had all but given up hope on her sanity, the voice sounded again in her ear, this time more impatiently and urgently. "Use your senses," the voice urged again, as the beast who had been looking frantically around for her, finally found her. Panic welled in her heart, and her mind went blank as she frantically tried to do as she was bade.

"How!" she cried, as she tried to dodge an attack she knew was coming, but didn't know from which direction it was coming.

"You should know all of the sounds and smells of the forest by now! Use them to your advantage. Listen... There! To your left, dodge!"

"How can you hear him? He's so quiet!"

"Focus! If you can't hear him, then sniff him out. You can do this!"

"But, I can't!"

"Then you're not the woman i fell in love with! She could do anything she put her mind to. If you don't focus, then you and your sister are as good as dead. Focus and fight!"

"... ok."

_**  
I'll tell you I'm gonna take this**_

With a grim determination born from sheer will of mind, she overcame the ailments of the body through the weight of her desperation. Five words were ricocheting around in her conscious mind, fueling her body, pushing her beyond her limits as she rose above her physical self. Empowered by something she didn't know she needed until now, she rose and glared her assailant in the eye, not even needing to consciously focus her power to find her enemy. She gathered the immeasurable strength she derived from those words and placed it all into a single attack. Her eyes flashed with platinum lightening as white smoke, curled and poured forth from her mouth.

Her eyes flashed golden for a moment before a noxious green gas poured forth to join the white smoke that was filling the area. The creature stumbled and began to scream in agony as the invisibility that cloaked the creature from sight wore away showing its flesh boiling and sizzling from both the purification and the poisonous gas. With its last dieing breath it uttered an ear piercing screech that echoed for a moment before all went silent. A moment passed before the giantess that was left standing in the clearing alone wavered a moment on her massive paws and then collapsed, returning to her humanoid form. a single tear escaped her as the connection with the man she loved faded. All around her went black and she could feel the world falling away from her at alarming rates.

Tentatively, she tried to move, but found she could not. Panicking, she struggled to move as she began to call for her little sister. That panic was short lived, only to be replaced by full blown unyielding fear. There before the backdrop of ethereal black and raging purple, in the clutches of her aunt, lay her little sister. Desperately the fledgling struggled for life as the ancient strangled the life out of her. She tried again and again to move but nothing was happening. She watched as the struggles of her little sister became weaker and weaker, until they ceased.

"NO!"

_**  
Did you come here to watch me burn?**_

Trembling, Kagome slowly sat up, clutching her head. Desperately she tried to figure out what it was that caused her so much fear but found no recollection. Slowly opening her eyes, she gasped as she realized that she needed to find her sister. Looking around, she found Rin sitting quietly next to her.

"Sister! You're awake!" the young girl exclaimed. "I was afraid you would never wake up!"

"How long was I out?" Kagome asked, still clutching her throbbing head.

"Not long," the former answered, "but I can't hold them back much longer."

"Them?" Kagome asked, finally releasing her head and looking at her sister with a puzzled expression. She turned her head at her sister's bidding and found a shimmering yellow barrier surrounding them. Although she couldn't see beyond the barrier, she could see the spots in which the beasts surrounding them pounded on their sole protection.

They were completely surrounded.

**_I'll let it show that_**

Panic started to well in her breast. She didn't know if she could stand let alone fight anymore. On the other hand, if she didn't do _something_, then the barrier would eventually fail and then both she and her sister would die. Taking a moment to think, she noticed the increasing look of panic on her sister's face. Nodding once to the young girl, she closed her eyes as she felt her sister's power recede and prepared herself for a fight.

As the barrier dropped, her eyes opened to reveal stormy gray eyes. Somehow, she had managed to converge both her dark powers and her holy powers without destroying them. They had agreed to work together for the sake of survival at the moment.

As the two opposing forces merged and mixed, Kagome could feel herself being revitalized. ****

I'm not always flying

She struggled to rise, still feeling weak. After a few moments, she stood strong, unwavering. She narrowed her eyes at the approaching demons, assessing what it was she had to do to win. It would take everything she had just to defeat the demons she could see, not to mention the untold numbers that lay beyond. She closed her eyes for a moment, clearing her mind, as she kept track of the demons with her other senses. Taking a cleansing breath, her eyes snapped open as the demons approached.

The masses of demons hit her like a wave pounding the beach. They attacked from all sides, relentlessly trying to bring her down. Many of the demons that approached died before they could even get a hit in, but many others did manage to land a hit.

She attacked with a ferocity that frightened even her, leaving no room for thought beyond strategy. She allowed her instincts to take control, guiding her movements and fueling her attacks.

She fought with everything she had and more, but there seemed to be no end to the sea of demons. To make matters worse, her powers were quickly draining under the strain of combining two conflicting powers. She felt herself weakening, slowing down. She began to panic when she found that she was just barely able to dodge the attacks being thrown her way.

In an effort to capture a few moments respite, she jumped high above the tree tops, her wings sparking to life and carrying her up just a little higher when she began to lose altitude. She looked down at the sea of demons as she hovered there. Her wings flapped occasionally, keeping her aloft as she assessed the grim situation. It seemed there was no end in sight to the mass of demons. In fact, however, there was, but she was nowhere near it.

_**  
Come all the way down**_

She lingered there for several moments, as she tried to calm her heavy breathing. Even that was becoming a chore. She remained completely unaware of the danger flying her way. It seemed like she could vaguely hear someone calling her name, trying to say something to her but she couldn't hear them. Brushing the voice off as her imagination, she was about to jump back into the fray when she was hit from behind.

Her breath left her in a gasp at the impact. She tried to intake more oxygen, but found she couldn't with the winds rushing by her. Somehow she couldn't breathe. An eternity seemed to pass as she fell. In those moments she found a sense of peace that she had never before attained.

That peace disappeared as she hit the ground, the weight on her back making the impact that much worse. She felt the earth give beneath her and vaguely wondered if this was what it was like for Inuyasha every time she had subdued him.

If there had been any oxygen in her lungs it was now completely gone. She lay there under the crushing weight of the demon, unable to do anything. She felt like every bone in her body was broken, but knew that wasn't the case.

Blankly she stared ahead, feeling her consciousness slowly slipping away as black spots began to cloud her fading vision. She could feel herself slipping away. Before she could, however, a searing pain tore through her already scarred back. Her eyes opened wide as the pain tore through her, the comforting black of unconsciousness ripped away for the moment.

_**  
And watch me burn**_

She could feel each bit of flesh tear as the demon tore at her back and sides. She began to thrash about, trying to free herself from the weight of the demon, but found that to be fruitless. She tried desperately to rise; to do anything really, but found that she was completely immobilized. She needed to do something soon or she would die.

She attempted to gather power when she heard the demon atop of her shriek in pain. Several moments passed before the weight on her back suddenly disappeared. Not a moment later she was covered in a shower of ashes. The ashes completely enveloped her and began to glow, covering her in a comforting yellow light. When the light receded, she was healed.

The demons around her backed away in slight fear as she slowly rose. A fire sparked in her eyes as she looked in the direction in which she knew that attack to have originated, and her sister to be. She knew her to be safe for the moment.

Looking to the demons around her, a slight smirk crossed her face for a moment before it disappeared behind a look of determination. A black and white flame sprang to life in the palm of her right hand and slowly spread up her arm and around her body until she was completely enveloped by it. She gathered the last of her power into one final attack. She wasn't sure this would work, but she prayed it would. If this didn't work then she was dead, along with her sister.

The demons began to back away when the flames began to creep from her body over the ground. They seemed to move in slow motion for a moment before they flared out at unimaginable speeds.

The flames moved from demon to demon, melting them away into oblivion. The cries of the demons caught in the crosshairs of the attack was deafening. Many fled, but many more were destroyed. Kagome held the attack for as long as she could maintain it without killing herself.

When the last of her energy was expended, the flames rushed back into her. She stood there breathing heavily, as she surveyed the damage she had caused. A majority of the demons had perished at her hand, but a great many still had escaped and were still lurking around. She couldn't linger long in the area, because they were bound to regroup and attack again, but she didn't have the energy to move.

As a matter of fact, she didn't even have the energy to stand. She quickly realized this at her sisters cry. It took her a moment, but it wasn't until she had hit the ground that she realized that she had fallen. She looked over at her sister, and had just enough energy to assure her that she was okay before she passed into blissful slumber.


	21. Don't Speak

**Chapter 21: Don't Speak **

She looked around her at the paradise dreamscape. She knew she shouldn't be there, she needed to be awake with her sister, but at the moment she didn't want to wake. For the moment, she ignored the beauty of her surroundings in favor of searching for a certain someone. She moved stealthily through the foliage, looking for any sign of him.

He watched her from the high branches of the tallest tree. He was confident she would find him… eventually. She stopped under his tree, after what he knew seemed to her like an eternity judging by her frustrated demeanor, but which was in fact only a few minutes. He smirked when she jumped up onto the lowest branch of the tree to get a better look at her surroundings.

She was looking around, grumbling in frustration to herself when she felt a sudden weight hit the branch next to her. She whipped around in the direction of the disturbance in surprise and lost her balance. Flailing her arms about in a last ditch effort to regain her balance, she caught sight of something white and immediately latched onto it.

Caught completely off guard, Sesshoumaru barely had time to register what was happening before they both fell. It wasn't until after they landed that he knew what exactly had happened actually.

They landed roughly in a tangled heap of limbs and grumbling attitudes. Finally they both quieted and lie still for several moment before they detangled themselves in favor of laying next to each other. Together they watched the clouds pass over the night sky in tranquil silence.

Finally getting fed-up with the silence, Kagome began to talk about anything and everything. She wasn't sure if he was even listening to her, but continued speaking anyway. Somehow she felt better talking, even if he wasn't listening. Occasionally she would glance at him out of the corner of her eye, but would quickly avert her gaze, afraid of getting caught watching him.

_**You and me**_

_**We used to be together**_

_**Everyday together always**_

The gentle nuances of her voice gently floated on the fabricated wind of the dream world as he patiently listened to her. He said nothing and made no move to acknowledge her, but she continued speaking totally unaffected by his unresponsiveness. Silently he wished he were actually there with her in the real world instead of being caught in this dream world. He watched her from the corner of his eye, unable to redirect his gaze.

She looked like an angel, bathed in the moonlight, her hair being playfully pulled by the light breeze. Something drew him to her and he found himself turning towards her against his volition.

She abruptly stopped talking when he moved and turned to face him. She looked at him waiting curiously, her eyes open wide and her mouth slightly agape. Her eyes searched his face, looking for something, but only she knew what.

He found himself invariably lost in her clear blue gaze. Something about them drew him in and drowned him in a tender warmth he had never experienced before. He found himself sucked into a swirling vortex of emotion that he could barely identify with words and yet knew exactly what they were all the same.

She gasped slightly, seemingly finding whatever it was she was searching for. A light he could not identify shone in her eyes and she seemed to glow in that moment. A tender smile graced her lips that seemed to take his breath away.

He wanted to say something to her, anything really, but could find nothing to say. There was something he needed to say to her face to face, but had yet to find those words. He felt a possessiveness come over him. He wanted to make her his. He wanted her heart, but didn't know if he did or ever could have it. He was afraid that after everything she had been through with his brother, she would have no room left in her heart for him. But what would he do once he had her heart? He had no idea what he would do, if anything. He was unsure of so many things. He was pulled from his thoughts back to the vision before him and before he could contemplate his actions or their consequences, he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She instantly leaned into him, sighing happily. She felt like she were in heaven. She felt as if she were flying and yet being weighed down at the same time. No other had ever made her feel this way. She lost herself in this one perfect moment, never wanting to let go.

That moment was ripped from her, however, when he unexpectedly pulled away from her without warning. He stared deeply into her liquid blue eyes, looking on searchingly for several moments before averting his eyes.

Even in this dream world, it was uncharacteristic of him to avoid eye contact. Concerned, the soft smile that had adorned her face slowly faded. The soft glow that had been in her eyes moments before faded into concern. Unsure as to why he was avoiding her eyes, she placed a small hand on his cheek, effectively returning his attention to her.

What she saw in his eyes made her gasp. The turmoil of emotion there startled her and worried her. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what and she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer.

"What's wrong?" she reluctantly whispered, breaking the heavy silence. In reply he merely closed his eyes and leaned into her gently touch. There seemed to be something almost remorseful in his actions. Several moments passed before he sighed and opened his eyes, revealing liquid gold pools of sorrow. "What?" she asked again, her throat beginning to tighten in apprehensive fear. The sorrow she saw in his eyes fueled her fear, causing panic to begin to well in her breast. "What's wrong?" she asked again, barely able to choke the question out.

He sighed once more, a mournful sound that sent a trill of fear down Kagome's spine, before finally speaking. "After tonight," he began hesitantly before pausing, "… after tonight, I won't be able to visit you here anymore," he managed to get out in a low whisper.

_**I really feel**_

_**I'm losing my best friend**_

_**I can't believe this could be the end**_

He cringed at the stricken look that crossed her face. Tears welled in her eyes and hovered for a moment before they escaped from their prison and streaked down her face leaving trails like acid. Each tear she shed for him burned him in a way nothing else could. Even if he were banished to the deepest recesses of hell, the flames there would not burn his as her tears did. Gently he wiped her face of those damnable tears even as she continued to cry them and held her close, knowing it was the only thing he could do.

An eternity seemed to pass before she finally seemed to calm down. Tentatively she looked up at him. He watched her, ready for a reaction, but none was forthcoming. He stared firmly into her eyes, waiting, but could find nothing.

_**It looks as though you're letting go**_

_**And if it's real, well I don't want to know**_

"I don't want you giving up," he whispered. Something he said seemed to strike something within her. Her chin began to quiver as she was on the verge of tears again. His gaze softened at that, and he found that he needed to find some way to comfort her. "We will meet again, I promise you this," he said barely above a whisper. The effects his words caused however, he could well have shouted it.

Her eyes snapped into focus as the tears cleared from her vision once more. "How?… When?" she asked, a sort of eager desperation lacing her voice.

"I do not know. You must trust me," he said trying to impress this upon her. He knew she would doubt him no matter what, but he tried none the less.

A single tear welled in her left eye and spilled over, sliding down her cheek. "Can't you see, I need you?" she whispered. She trembled with the depth of her emotion as she looked at him through her tear shattered vision. "I need you here with me, but you're not here. You never were… We'll only be together like this in my dreams, " she whispered brokenly.

Gently, he cupped her face between the palms of his hands and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Believe me," he told her in a soothing tone, "we will be together again."

She nodded slightly, still not completely convinced. She wanted to believe him more than anything, but she could not tempt her heart to hope. She cursed everything she had within her and more for falling in love with a dream, but she couldn't help herself. Not only did she fall in love with an impossible dream, however, but that dream was leaving her.

Uttering a shaky sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned forward to rest her head against his chest. She knew this couldn't and wouldn't last forever, but she just didn't want it to end. " I don't want you to go," she whispered hoarsely.

_**Don't speak**_

_**I know just what you're saying**_

_**So please stop explaining**_

_**Don't tell me 'cause it hurts**_

"I know," he whispered back, not knowing what else to say. Having her hair so close to his nose enveloped him in her sweet scent. His eyes slid closed as he savored every moment he would have left with her and leaned his head down to rest against hers. He felt warm and safe here like this. Her scent wrapped him in a blanket of comfort that he enjoyed. For the first time he wished he could have held her like this while he was alive. Burying his nose in her hair, he held her close and prayed that this would last forever.

They stayed together like that, unmoving. Neither wanted to end that precious moment. However, like all good things, that moment did come to an end. Unable to stay still any longer, Kagome detached herself from Sesshoumaru and sat up to look up at the stars. Sesshoumaru soon sat up to join her, but rather was watching her instead of the stars. To him she was his shining star. She was his everything.

Without warning, she dreamscape began to ripple violently, and everything began to fade rapidly. Both eyes snapped to face the other as their time was violently ripped away from them.

_**Don't speak **_

_**I know what you're thinking**_

_**I don't need your reasons**_

_**Don't tell me 'cause it hurts**_

She watched with wide sad eyes, knowing she would have to leave him. This was probably going to be the last time she ever saw him. That thought sent tears cascading down her face as she pressed a kiss to his lips. He eagerly responded, giving her everything he had. When they pulled away from each other, they watched with sad eyes as they other faded from their vision.

Sesshoumaru watched in horror as she faded away, no more than a phantom to haunt him now. In an act of sudden desperation he reached out to her just as she completely faded from sight, his fingers coming in contact with nothing but air. He was left alone once more, but he continued still to stare blankly at the spot from which she vanished.

_**It's all ending, I gotta stop pretending who we are**_

X

"Sesshoumaru," a voice called, this one different from the one he was used to hearing. Like a marionette, he turned to face the origin of this new voice. This time instead of a beautiful phoenix woman, he was met with a half inu youkai, half phoenix man, that glared at him contemptuously.

Sesshoumaru knew this man held no love for him, given his history. Not to mention, this man hated him even more due to his history with the half phoenix's daughter. If Sesshoumaru had been a lesser demon, he would have trembled in fear at this awesome and terrible creature. But Sesshoumaru was just as formidable and if nothing, possibly more terrible than this demon… he just didn't know it yet.


	22. Rise

**Chapter 22: Rise **

Alone. She was alone again. She felt hollow, empty. There was nothing left in the world for her, except hope. The small hope that they would indeed meet again lived deep within her and it kept her going. That hope and her sister kept her alive. When she awoke, she didn't have the desire or will to move. Nothing seemed to matter.

Remembering the demons still lurking in the area, she reluctantly rose, and roused her sister. Eyeing the area, she noted the lurking presence of evil in the area and like a shadow at midday she was gone, her sister in tow.

X

_**Rise  
Throw away  
The charade of your life**_

He hit the ground hard after the last blow. Half-heartedly he tried to lift himself off the ground, but didn't have the strength or will to do so. Somehow, knowing that he would no longer be able to see her, and not knowing when they would meet again, made him lose all will to fight. The half inu-youkai loomed above him and snarled viciously.

"You call yourself a man?… Pathetic! I can't believe I entrusted either of my daughters to you!" the older of the two demons scoffed.

_**Let the flame of my heart  
Burn away  
Your complacence tonight  
I command you to rise**_

His words sparked something inside of Sesshoumaru. He used to do the same thing to his little brother. He grunted at the irony of the situation, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside and rose to his feet. He was bloody and his clothes were mangled. He looked like he had been through hell and back.

He glared forward at his slave driver of a sensei with a fierce determination that he had been infamous for in his life. He would not become the prey in this, he would not be weak. He was the predator in life and he would remain such in death. With a defiance that would have rivaled that of his insolent little brother he spat at his sensei when he began to laugh at him.

_**Wash away  
The decay of your life  
Feel the light of your eyes**_

Without warning, Sesshoumaru burst to life, managing to catch his sensei off guard, effectively shutting him up. He landed a solid punch on the older demon, but did not stop there. He lost complete control as he continued to beat on the older phoenix demon. His eyes were blood red and he snarled at the other demon as he tried to fight back in vain.

The older demon snarled and suddenly began to transform, taking on the shape of a giant dog with great wings of flame upon its back. It howled as he caught Sesshoumaru under one of his great paws and began to crush him. The younger demon mercifully lost consciousness as every bone in his body began to groan and then snap under the pressure. The last thing he remembered was the voice of an angel begging for mercy for him.

**_Find the way  
Through the darkness tonight  
Fearing no one_**

X

He groaned as the light stabbed his eyes through his shut lids. He had been swimming in a blissful sea of nothingness, when awareness suddenly smacked him in the face. He heard two voices that seemed to be floating around him in a disjointed sort of way.

_**Come, take me away  
Remove the fear from my eyes  
Feel the flame of my heart**_

"He is strong, stronger than I expected," a male voice stated.

"I told you!" a female voice that reminded him oddly of Kagome in tone and attitude, replied smartly.

"He did not even utter a cry of pain as I crushed his body!" the first voice stated in amazement. "Any other would have been begging for mercy!"

"He is the one," the second voice stated.

"No doubt about it! He has everything we're looking for in a potential…." The rest of the conversation was lost to Sesshoumaru as he drifted away once more.

_**Burning away  
All conversation tonight  
Hearing no one**_

X

_**Now rise  
Turn away  
From the shame of your life**_

He awoke sometime later in excruciating pain. Unable to contain a slight hiss of pain as he attempted to move, he found that it was wiser to assess what was broken before he tried that again.

From what he could tell, his back was broken in several places, not to mention multiple broken ribs. Every bone in both of his legs were completely shattered as was his right arm. It seemed that the only part of him that had gone completely unscathed was his newly restored left arm. Instinctively he flexed his arm, balling his hand into a fist. He continued to squeeze his fist tighter and tighter until his claws pierced the tender flesh of the palm of his hand and only continued to squeeze harder. This was the only outlet he had for the amount of pain he was in.

_**Feel the light from my eyes  
Offering  
Consolation tonight  
Fearing no one**_

A soft voice was humming pleasantly in the distance and approaching at a steady rate. With the approaching humming came a scent that was all too familiar and yet different somehow. Sesshoumaru immediately relaxed, knowing that even though it wasn't Kagome he was still in good hands.

_**Now, I cannot stop this  
Pure emotion  
Falling from my eyes**_

Sighing, he allowed himself to drift back to sleep to dream of times not long passed. He delved into the comfort and warmth that he had only felt early in his life before his mother had died. He encased himself in the memories that would have to hold him over for months to come.

_**You are vindicating  
Liberating  
Saviors of my soul**_

X

They had been moving from place to place for days now, only stopping to eat and sleep when necessary. Trouble seemed to follow them at every turn. Kagome desperately longed for the relatively peaceful days she had spent with her friends during the shard hunt. Those were relatively peaceful days compared to her life now, although she knew that those weren't very peaceful times either. She missed her friends, she missed her family and she missed Sesshoumaru.

The past few days had been hell without him and she couldn't imagine any extended amount of time without him. He was the link to her sanity. She knew, however, that she needed to keep it together in order to keep her sister alive. She only prayed that she could.


End file.
